The peer-to-peer lender has now raised $170m in equity funding from backers including Chinese internet company Renren.

SoFi, a US-based peer-to-peer lender focusing on the student loan market, has raised $80m in series C funding from investors including Renren, a China-based internet company that is one of SoFi’s existing backers.

Venture capital firm Discovery Capital Management led the round, which also included venture capitalist Peter Thiel, Wicklow Capital and existing investors including Baseline Ventures.

SoFi operates an affinity-based marketplace that connects ex-student borrowers with investors, bypassing banks in the process, and has funded more than $450m in…