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Greg Schwartz, Tomo CEO. (Tomo Photo)
Tomo, a startup launched by former Zillow execs that aims to speed up the mortgage approval process, announced $20 million in new funding on Tuesday. The company has raised a total of $130 million from investors.
Tomo reports that its gross revenue increased 3.5-fold last year compared to 2023, and that it had significant customer growth.
The startup showed positive returns despite the fact that U.S. home sales dipped to 10-year lows in 2023 and 2024, according to Statista, after peaking in 2021.
Founded in October 2020 by Greg Schwartz and Carey Armstrong, Tomo aims to be a “PayPal for the mortgage industry.” The company has automated the mortgage lending process, which it claims makes borrowing faster and less expensive. Tomo said its platform helps homebuyers save $4,000 on average when closing on homes, and that its interest rates are 0.5% lower than the industry overall.
The company has grown to 94 employees, with 23 of those located in Seattle. Tomo initially had its co-headquarters in Seattle, the home of Zillow, and Stamford, Conn. It announced Tuesday that it is establishing New York City as its HQ.
Tomo said it will use the new funding to expand its product offerings and grow its headcount, “aggressively hiring loan officers and other mortgage professionals for its Detroit, Seattle and New York offices to meet the surge of new demand.”
The Series B round includes cash from Progressive Insurance, a new backer for Tomo, as well as existing investors Ribbit Capital, DST Global and NFX.
When it comes to mortgage automation, Tomo is “taking a radically different approach,” said Pete Flint, general partner at NFX, in a statement. The company is “using proprietary technology to cut out origination fees and processing delays in a way that we’ve not seen in the industry so far,” Flint added.
Tomo’s competitors include Valon Mortgage, Better Home & Finance and others.
