Zest AI, a leader in AI-powered lending technology, announced it has closed an oversubscribed, customer-led financing round backed by key financial institutions, including SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, Members 1st Federal Credit Union, ORNL Federal Credit Union, Truliant Federal Credit Union, and Citi Ventures.
The round marks a significant valuation increase from Zest AI’s prior growth financing, highlighting the company’s accelerating momentum as lenders increasingly modernize their underwriting systems with artificial intelligence. The new funding will support the expansion of automation across the borrower lifecycle and the further rollout of the company’s Generative AI-driven lending intelligence platform, LuLu.
Zest AI’s solutions have seen strong adoption across the financial services sector as institutions seek to boost underwriting precision, enhance credit accessibility, and streamline operations. The company’s customer base spans nearly 300 lenders, including credit unions, community banks, and large enterprise financial institutions. Its proprietary technology portfolio includes more than 50 issued and pending patents, as well as over 650 credit models. Zest AI’s models typically drive a 25% increase in loan approvals without added risk and lower defaults by 20% when approvals are held constant.
Participating credit unions noted tangible benefits from adopting Zest AI’s technology. Executives cited significant improvements in approval rates, member experience, transparency of compliance, and data-driven decision-making. The investment marks a deepening of those partnerships, as lenders also gain a financial stake in the company’s continued growth and innovation.
The announcement reinforces Zest AI’s positioning as a leading force in responsible AI within the financial sector. The company’s platform leverages machine learning to help lenders identify creditworthy borrowers often overlooked by traditional scoring systems, while supporting compliance and fairness objectives.
KEY QUOTES:
“Our instant approval rate has more than doubled. Institutionalizing Zest AI’s technology across our lending operations has been game-changing for our member experience and our business results. When we signed on a year ago, we had an ambitious vision, and the results have exceeded our expectations. This is a partnership that’s delivering real value today and will continue to drive innovation for our members well into the future.”
Bill Cheney, CEO, SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union
“As we look to modernize our lending operations and improve access to affordable credit, finding advanced solutions is essential. Through our use of LuLu, Zest AI’s Generative AI lending intelligence platform, we’ve seen firsthand how it helps lenders to become better financial institutions through sizable and scalable solutions with complete transparency in its decisioning models. LuLu has also been extremely valuable in benchmarking data against peers, which allows us to be more nimble in taking decisive action, all within the same platform. The partnership with Zest AI has given us confidence in the use of AI without compromising compliance or performance, and we are especially excited about the potential of LuLu and the innovation it represents for the industry, as well as our regulators. That’s why we are proud to deepen our trusted partnership with Zest AI as an investor and support their continued leadership in modernizing lending.”
Michael Wilson, CEO, Members 1st Federal Credit Union
“Having our customers become investors is the ultimate validation of our technology and vision. This round reflects both financial and operational confidence from institutions that use our AI solutions every day to transform their businesses and deliver greater value to their customers and members. The convergence of regulatory support for AI, intensifying competition, and the need for efficiency is fueling strong demand for our solutions. This investment enables us to accelerate innovation and scale adoption, helping more financial institutions leverage AI to deliver greater impact for the communities they serve.”
Mike de Vere, CEO, Zest AI
