Former LendingClub CEO Renaud Laplanche launches new online lender

LENDINGCLUB-LBO

Renaud Laplanche, who abruptly stepped down as CEO of LendingCLub Corp in May, has launched a new online lender called Upgrade, the company said on Thursday.

San Francisco-based Upgrade has raised $60 million in equity and convertible notes from a large group of venture capital investors including Union Square Ventures, Ribbit Capital, as well as large Chinese online lender CreditEase and Silicon Valley Bank, the startup said.

(Reporting by Anna Irrera; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)