AI credit intelligence platform Kaaj has successfully raised $3.8 million in a seed funding round led by Kindred Ventures.
The funding round also saw participation from Better Tomorrow Ventures, Karman Ventures, Pythia Ventures, Coughdrop Capital, and several angel investors, including Sardine AI CEO Soups Ranjan and TreasuryPrime COO Remy Carole.
Founded in 2024, Kaaj leverages agentic AI workflows to assist lenders in analyzing end-to-end loan packages, providing decision-ready assessments for small business lending. This innovation aims to reduce costs for lenders and speed up decision-making processes.
Co-founder and CEO Utsav Shah brings a decade of experience from Uber and Cruise, where he developed AI-powered decision-making systems. Co-founder and president Shivi Sharma specializes in credit and fraud risk, having previously worked at American Express, Uber, and Varo Bank.
According to the Federal Reserve 2024 Small Business Credit Survey, nearly 50% of small business loan applicants do not receive the full amount of capital they seek. Kaaj identifies a key issue as the lack of profitability for lenders regarding loans under $1 million, often due to traditional manual and time-consuming underwriting methods.
To address this, Kaaj’s platform employs AI agents that automate the entire credit analysis process, including business verification, cash flow analysis, asset valuation, financial analysis, and risk assessment. Tasks that typically take underwriters days of manual work across thousands of documents can now be completed in under three minutes, delivering decision-ready analysis that integrates smoothly into existing loan origination systems.
Sharma states, “Kaaj’s platform doesn’t just speed things up. It fundamentally changes the economics of small business lending, making smaller loans profitable for lenders while enhancing the borrower experience.”