May 9, 2022

Cross River Digital Ventures Announces Co-Lead Investment in Lev’s Series B

While Cross River is now known for its role in the fintech ecosystem, we first cut our teeth in the commercial real estate financing (“CREF”) space as a lender, a business we’re proud to continue to support.

Through our work in CREF, we became intimately familiar with various lender and broker technology enablement platforms. From our vantage point, the CREF market lags far behind other markets in the effective utilization and adoption of new technologies. Legacy players relying on disparate and clunky systems for underwriting, communication, and closing continue to serve key roles in the CREF value chain.

At the same time, the CREF market is massive. In 2020, CREF origination volumes were approximately $640B in the US, with that number expected to grow. Over the next five years, some estimates see as much as $2.3T of CRE debt maturing.

We at Cross River Digital Ventures (“CRDV”) are excited to announce our co-lead investment in Lev’s Series B alongside Parker89, with participation from existing and new investors NFX, Canaan Partners, ANIMO Ventures, StepStone, JLL Spark, Capital One, and Citi Ventures.  

Lev’s vision is to build an end-to-end digital CREF marketplace, leveraging technology to enable industry participants to more efficiently market, diligence, screen, underwrite, and close transactions. In doing so, Lev is fundamentally reimagining the CREF value chain for borrowers, lenders, and investors.

Lev is also targeting underserved segments of the CREF market. Today, Lev serves the lower-middle market, where deals are often avoided by brokers due to poor economics. By leveraging both a technology- and sales-first approach, Lev is providing this market with more efficient and seamless borrowing experiences.

This latest investment deepens the relationship between Cross River and Lev. CRDV first invested in Lev’s Seed round, and Cross River has since provided a warehouse facility and accounts-as-a-service. We are thrilled to once again partner with and support Yaakov and the broader Lev team as they execute against their vision.