Zest AI Secures $200 Million Growth Investment from Insight Partners to Revolutionize AI Lending Technology
Zest AI, a pioneering technology company in AI lending, has secured a significant $200 million growth investment from Insight Partners, a global software investor. This investment marks the third and largest funding round for Zest AI since Insight Partners first invested in the company in 2020.
Zest AI, headquartered in Burbank, California, has been at the forefront of AI innovation in lending since its inception in 2009. The company’s mission is to broaden access to equitable lending by leveraging AI’s potential for good. With over 50 patents and more than 500 active proprietary AI consumer credit models, Zest AI has developed a comprehensive AI lending technology that helps lenders make smarter lending decisions.
The growth capital from Insight Partners will enable Zest AI to accelerate its product innovation and strategic M&A initiatives. The company plans to double down on its current product portfolio, focusing on advancing fraud protection and generative AI to build the future of lending through AI. Zest AI’s technology analyzes thousands of data variables, far surpassing traditional credit models that rely on 15-20 variables. This advanced AI-driven underwriting technology enhances the customer experience by instantly automating up to 80% of loan applications, driving operational efficiency while reducing charge-offs by 20%.
Since Insight Partners’ first investment in 2020, Zest AI has experienced remarkable growth, doubling its customer count every year and achieving an average compounding annual growth rate of over 50%. Today, Zest AI’s customers represent 110 million people and $5.5 trillion in assets under management. The company’s AI-automated underwriting technology has helped lenders assess over 39 million consumer loan applications in the last four years, resulting in $250 billion in loans granted based on Zest AI’s models.
Zest AI’s commitment to building a robust lending ecosystem is centered around four pillars: loan underwriting solutions, fraud protection, marketing, and data intelligence capabilities. The company has recently announced Zest Protect, which leverages AI models with hundreds of features, and a generative AI lending intelligence companion called LuLu that enables financial institutions to analyze performance benchmarks and extract insights using natural language prompts.
Mike de Vere, Founder and CEO of Zest AI, emphasized the significance of this investment, stating, “Today, financial institutions are missing out on a nearly $3 trillion opportunity by sticking with antiquated traditional scoring systems. Zest AI’s technology is strengthening the financial system by leveraging more data and AI to deliver a higher fidelity view of consumer credit risk. Our customers are able to grow their lending businesses more than 25% while helping every American get a shot at equitable credit.”
Jon Rosenbaum, Managing Director at Insight Partners and Zest AI board member, highlighted the company’s exceptional growth and customer satisfaction, saying, “Zest has been cultivating sophisticated AI and ML technology applied to credit underwriting for over a decade. The product is loved by customers, as demonstrated in best-in-class vertical market SaaS retention, because it is both powerful but approachable for financial institutions.”
This investment underscores Zest AI’s position as a leader in AI lending technology and its commitment to transforming the credit decision-making process to ensure more Americans have access to equitable lending. With the support of Insight Partners, Zest AI is well-capitalized and poised to accelerate its product roadmap and strategic M&A initiatives, further solidifying its role in shaping the future of lending through AI.