UK-based consumer lending fintech Abound (formerly Fintern) has raked in more than £500m in a new funding round for its credit technology platform.
The start-up leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and open banking to make better lending decisions and provide loans with a mission of expanding access to affordable credit.
The new funding round includes debt as well as equity financing.
Abound secured debt financing from Citi and clients of Waterfall Asset Management, reported TechCrunch.
The investors which took part in the investment part include K3 Ventures, Hambro Perks, ad GSR Ventures.
Abound roped in Osborne Clarke as an adviser for the funding round.
The start-up tweeted: “We’re excited to announce that we’ve raised over £500m in new funding!
“We’re extremely grateful for the support of our customers, investors and partners as we continue to work towards our goal of making lending more inclusive for all.”
The AI-based credit technology platform has raised up to £570m to date. This includes £8m of new capital secured last month in a funding round led by Hambro Perks.
It was founded in 2020 with a team from McKinsey, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, EY, XiaoMi, and HSBC.
The start-up plans to use the new capital for expanding the number of its loan customers apart from increasing its workforce by a significant extent.
Besides, Abound intends to use the proceeds for developing its business-to-business offering to enable other lenders and banks to leverage its technology.
Since the launch of its consumer lending product in March 2021, the start-up claims to have processed over 50,000 loan applications. Its lending decisions are based on combining data with various other sources and on what an individual can afford to borrow.