Technology

Posted on February 4, 2019 by staff

London AI FinTech raises $11m

Technology

A London tech firm which aims to improve consumers’ chances of securing credit through tech including artificial intelligence has secured $11 million (£8.4m) funding.

Aire’s credit assessment service aims to reveal the bigger picture, predicting how borrowers will behave in the future rather than relying on an extensive credit history.

The start-up, which featured in BusinessCloud’s ‘101 FinTech disrupters’ list last year, has scored $10 billion in credit to date and claims to increase credit approvals by up to 19 per cent.

The new funding round was led by Crane Venture Partners with strategic investment from Experian Ventures and Orange Digital Ventures and will support a rapid growth phase including investment in Aire’s credit insight engine and expansion in the United States.

The company, which was founded in 2012 and employs nearly 40 people, has now secured a total of £9.1m investment to date.

“Aire is built on the premise that empowering consumers to play an active role in their credit assessment is the only way to give lenders a comprehensive view with which to make a decision,” said co-founder and CEO Aneesh Varma.

“Today’s announcement is a significant milestone in the Aire journey and showcases how much the market is paying attention, with the support of the largest credit bureau.

“This Series B funding is allowing us to push the Aire philosophy further into new markets, such as the US, as well as new sectors.”

Aire works with the likes of Toyota Financial Services, peer-to-peer lender Zopa and fashion retailer N Brown.

It was founded by ex-RBS analyst Jon Bundy, ex- JPMorgan mergers and acquisitions analyst Aneesh Varma, and ex-Rolls Royce and Wonga engineer Dr. Srini Sundaram.

Krishna Visvanathan, founding partner at Crane Venture Partners, said: “We’ve worked closely with the Aire team since inception, investing in the company based on our firm belief in their vision to reimagine credit decisioning for the 21st century.

“Aire is yet another great example of a category-leading enterprise software company formed in Europe that is fundamentally changing an industry, and we are proud to support its new phase of growth.”