Figure completed a $200 million Series D round in July 2021, led by 10T Holdings and Morgan Creek Digital. The company has raised $435 million in total funding across nine rounds.

Key investors include Apollo Global Management, DST Global, RPM Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Blockchain.com, MUFG Innovation Partners, Rockaway Blockchain, HOF Capital, Endeavour Capital, National Bank Holdings, GoldenTree Asset Management, and L1 Digital. The company is currently preparing for a potential IPO, aiming to raise between $500 million and $1 billion in the offering.

Figure is a digital home equity line of credit platform that transforms the traditional 45-60 day HELOC process into a five-minute approval with funding in as little as five days. Homeowners visit Figure's website, enter basic information about their property, income, and desired loan amount, and receive an instant rate quote through automated valuation models and soft credit pulls.

The platform handles the entire loan lifecycle digitally through its proprietary Provenance blockchain infrastructure. Each promissory note is minted as a digital token and recorded in Figure's DART registry, eliminating paper handling and enabling near-instant collateral certification. For loans under $400,000, Figure bypasses traditional appraisals using automated valuation models and AI-powered document review.

Borrowers can access $15,000 to $750,000 in home equity through fixed-rate lines of credit with 5- or 10-year draw periods and 30-year amortization. The entire closing process happens online through integrated eNotary services and digital title alternatives. Once approved, borrowers manage their line of credit through a web dashboard where they can make additional draws and track repayments.

Figure's blockchain-based infrastructure differentiates it from traditional lenders by creating a permanent, auditable record of loan ownership and lien positions that can be instantly verified by secondary market investors.

Figure operates as a vertically integrated fintech lender with a B2C go-to-market model, though it increasingly serves B2B customers through white-label partnerships. The company generates revenue primarily through origination fees, with additional income from loan servicing and blockchain infrastructure licensing.

The core monetization model centers on a 5.3% take rate on loan originations, combining upfront fees with net interest margin before loans are sold to institutional investors. Figure has pioneered HELOC securitizations on its Provenance blockchain, creating a more efficient secondary market that allows the company to recycle capital faster than competitors relying on whole-loan sales.

Figure's white-label platform serves over 135 banks, credit unions, and independent mortgage banks through its Partner HELOC API. This B2B2C channel allows smaller financial institutions to offer digital HELOCs without building internal technology or taking balance-sheet risk, creating a recurring SaaS-like revenue stream alongside traditional lending income.

The company's blockchain infrastructure creates additional monetization opportunities through Figure Connect, which lets any originator auction loan pools on-chain while the DART registry processes electronic lien assignments. With more than half of the top-20 independent mortgage banks using DART, Figure earns fees on loan trades beyond its own originations.

Better.com has emerged as Figure's most direct competitor with its One-Day HELOC product, claiming fully underwritten approvals in under 8 hours and reaching $60 million in monthly originations by late 2024. SoFi leverages its deposit base to offer aggressive promotional bonuses like $1,000 cash-back offers while supporting up to 90% loan-to-value ratios. Rocket Mortgage rolled out a fully digital HELOC nationally in 2024, bundling it with their Amrock e-closing technology to create an integrated experience.

These competitors have largely matched Figure's front-end speed advantages, with several now offering same-day or next-day approvals. The differentiation has shifted toward back-end efficiency and capital markets execution, where Figure's blockchain infrastructure still provides advantages in loan trading and investor onboarding.

Major banks including Bank of America, TD Bank, and PNC are modernizing their HELOC offerings after largely exiting the market following the 2008 financial crisis. These institutions benefit from cheap deposit funding that gives them rate flexibility, though they typically require 30-45 days for processing. Many are partnering with technology vendors like Blend to digitize their workflows while maintaining their funding cost advantages.

Credit unions and community banks represent a particularly active segment, with many adopting Figure's white-label platform rather than building competing technology. This dynamic creates both competition and partnership opportunities as regional institutions seek to offer digital experiences without the development costs.

Home equity investment companies like Hometap, Point, Unlock, and Unison offer debt-free equity sharing as an alternative to traditional HELOCs. These products appeal to homeowners who want to access equity without monthly payments, though they typically result in higher long-term costs. The HEI market has grown rapidly as mortgage rate locks trap homeowners in low-rate first liens, creating indirect competition for Figure's debt-based products.

Figure Connect and the DART registry position the company to capture fees on loan trades beyond its own originations. With Figure representing approximately 80% of the $18 billion tokenized private credit market, expanding tokenization to other asset classes like auto loans, student debt, and small business credit could multiply addressable volume 10-20x without adding consumer-facing risk.

The company's blockchain infrastructure serves as the foundation for a network business model where Figure earns transaction fees on every private credit trade processed through its platform. As more institutional investors and originators adopt blockchain-based settlement, Figure's infrastructure becomes increasingly valuable as the underlying rails for digital lending markets.

Figure's Partner HELOC platform already serves over 135 financial institutions, but banks and credit unions still originate 90% of all HELOCs. The white-label model allows smaller institutions to offer digital experiences without building technology or taking balance-sheet risk, potentially quadrupling Figure-processed originations over the next three years.

The Sixth Street joint venture provides a $200 million permanent capital facility that encourages other asset managers to join Figure's marketplace, expanding the investor side of the network. This creates a flywheel where more capital sources attract more originating partners, increasing overall platform volume.

Figure operates in 49 states plus Washington DC, with recent expansion into New York and Delaware opening approximately 12% more tappable home equity. The company's automated underwriting technology could potentially expand to other deed-record jurisdictions like Canada and the UK, multiplying the addressable market by roughly $1 trillion in additional homeowner equity.

Beyond HELOCs, Figure's blockchain infrastructure and digital lending technology could support other secured lending products like auto loans, equipment financing, and small business credit. The same automated underwriting and tokenization capabilities that accelerate home equity lending could be applied to any asset-backed lending market.

Regulatory scrutiny: Figure faces increasing regulatory attention around its blockchain-based lending infrastructure and automated underwriting processes, with potential changes to electronic notarization rules or digital asset regulations that could disrupt its core operational advantages. The company has already faced consumer protection lawsuits alleging bait-and-switch practices in HELOC marketing, highlighting ongoing compliance risks in the heavily regulated mortgage industry.

Interest rate sensitivity: Figure's business model depends heavily on homeowners' willingness to tap equity through second liens, which becomes less attractive as interest rates rise and home price appreciation slows. A sustained period of high rates could reduce HELOC demand while simultaneously increasing Figure's funding costs, compressing margins and origination volumes.

Technology commoditization: As competitors like Better.com and Rocket Mortgage match Figure's speed advantages and traditional banks modernize their digital capabilities, the company's core differentiators around automated underwriting and fast approvals risk becoming commoditized. Figure's blockchain infrastructure provides some protection, but the lending technology itself may not sustain long-term competitive advantages as the industry digitizes.