London fintech firm Abound grabs £500M to help borrowers with affordable loans using AI

Abound, a London-based personal lending platform that uses AI and Open Banking to provide accurate and affordable loans has raised over £500 million comprising both debt and equity financing, bringing the total investment to £570m.

The debt funding came from American bank Citi and clients of Waterfall Asset Management, a global alternative investment manager. The equity side investors included Singapore-based K3 Ventures (also backed Sending Labs), GSR Ventures, and Hambro Perks.

The new funding will be used to expand the number of customers, as well as its headcount.

The UK firm will also use the funds to develop its business-to-business offer, allowing other banks and lenders to take advantage of its technology.

Abound claims that it is on track to have £1 billion on its balance sheet by 2025.

Gerald Chappell, CEO and co-founder of Abound, said:“Our approach to lending remains unique in the finance industry and this latest investment, which comes from a mixture of tech multinationals to global banks, is a testament to the demand and success of our service, particularly in this current challenging economic landscape. Abound has gone from strength to strength since we first launched and we’re excited for the next stage of growth as we look to capitalise on the strong foundations we’ve embedded with customers, and to revolutionise lending forever.”

Provides affordable loans

‍Founded by Michelle He and Gerald Chappell in 2020, Abound is a financial service that uses Open Banking and artificial intelligence to provide borrowers with more affordable loans compared to traditional lenders.

At present, the company offers loans between £1,000 and £10,000 repayable for up five years with a 24.8% APR. Abound is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

To date, Abound has been growing 30% month-on-month and served over 150,000 customers through its service.

Krishin Uttamchandani, Director at Waterfall Asset Management, said: “Waterfall is pleased to be part of Abound’s business expansion as it seeks to utilize open banking in a more informed way to help the consumer. Abound is led by a strong management team that we are excited to work with, supported by, what we believe is, a robust tech stack, underwriting methodology and view on risk. What Abound has achieved in its first two years of lending has been very impressive and should lay the groundwork for a strong platform to better serve the customers who should be able to access cheaper credit with open banking. We are excited to be a partner in the Abound journey.”

‍Kuok Meng Xiong, CEO of K3 Ventures, said: “We are thrilled to be investing in Abound’s parent company Fintern as it propels itself to new heights with the latest capital raise. The lending industry is dominated by old practices, like traditional credit scoring, which ignores technological developments of the last decade. Abound is delivering a unique product and a differentiated approach which is already proving itself to work for thousands of customers. We are excited to see Abound’s offer grow in the years ahead.”

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