Top 100 Lending Startups to Watch in 2026
The lending sector includes a wide range of companies, from those financing consumer goods to others supporting public projects. For example, Octane has raised $3.6B to provide financing for recreational purchases.
Below is our list of 100 Lending startups worth keeping an eye on.
Failory's Top 10 Picks
Lendistry operates a fintech platform that provides small businesses with loans and access to grant programs. The company focuses on delivering responsible and equitable capital to support business owners.
| Headquarters | Brea, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2015 |
| Founders | Everett Sands |
| Funding Amount | $204.8M |
| Startup Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Debt Financing |
| Top Investors | TD Bank, Exelon, Texas Capital Bank, East West Bank, City National Bank |
Octane builds a digital-first financing platform for powersports, outdoor equipment, and other recreational purchases. The company's technology streamlines the entire buying journey, from prequalification to closing the loan.
| Headquarters | New York, New York, United States |
| Year Founded | 2014 |
| Founders | Andre Gregori, Daniel Petkevich, Maria Aveledo, Mark Davidson, Mark Garro, Michael Fanfant |
| Funding Amount | $3.6B |
| Startup Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Undisclosed |
| Top Investors | Gaingels, FinTech Collective, MetLife Investment Management (MIM), Contour Venture Partners, FundersClub |
Lava offers a bitcoin lending platform that includes a self-custodial wallet for managing digital finances. Their service allows users to borrow against their bitcoin holdings without giving up control of their assets.
| Headquarters | Wilmington, Delaware, United States |
| Year Founded | 2014 |
| Founders | Shehzan Maredia |
| Funding Amount | $27.5M |
| Startup Size | Founding Team (1-10) |
| Last Funding Status | Series A |
| Top Investors | Khosla Ventures, Founders Fund, Caffeinated Capital, HashKey Capital, SignalFire |
Mambu built a SaaS cloud banking platform that allows financial institutions to design and launch new financial products. Their composable architecture gives banks and fintechs the flexibility to assemble components and migrate away from legacy core systems.
| Headquarters | Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands |
| Year Founded | 2011 |
| Founders | Eugene Danilkis, Frederik Pfisterer, Sofia Nunes |
| Funding Amount | €387M |
| Startup Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Series E |
| Top Investors | Bessemer Venture Partners, TCV, EQT, Tiger Global Management, Point Nine |
Splash Financial runs an AI-powered lending marketplace that connects borrowers with a network of banks and credit unions. The platform allows users to easily shop and compare rates for financial products like student loan refinancing and personal loans.
| Headquarters | Cleveland, Ohio, United States |
| Year Founded | 2013 |
| Founders | Steven Muszynski |
| Funding Amount | $130.9M |
| Startup Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Series C |
| Top Investors | Curql, Firebolt Ventures, Citi Ventures, DST Global, First Tech Federal Credit Union |
MuniFin finances public sector projects in Finland, specializing in credit for municipalities, wellbeing services counties, and social housing. As one of the country's largest credit institutions, they help ensure residents have access to essential public services.
| Headquarters | Helsinki, Southern Finland, Finland |
| Year Founded | 1989 |
| Founders | — |
| Funding Amount | $4.7B |
| Startup Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Debt Financing |
| Top Investors | — |
OakNorth operates a digital bank that provides bespoke credit and banking services to businesses across the UK and US. The company was founded by entrepreneurs to create flexible financial products tailored to the specific needs of growing companies.
| Headquarters | Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom |
| Year Founded | 2015 |
| Founders | Joel Perlman, Rishi Khosla |
| Funding Amount | $1B |
| Startup Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | — |
| Top Investors | SoftBank Vision Fund, GIC, EDBI, Sammaan Capital, NIBC Bank N.V. |
InCred built a financial services platform that simplifies the lending process for personal, education, and business loans. The fintech company focuses on making credit more accessible and efficient for a wide range of borrowers.
| Headquarters | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Year Founded | 2016 |
| Founders | Bhupinder Singh |
| Funding Amount | $428.3M |
| Startup Size | Major Organization (1,001-5,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Debt Financing |
| Top Investors | Yubi, Neo Asset Management, OAKS Asset Management, Paragon Partners, India, FMO |
Taktile builds a software platform that allows financial companies to create and run automated risk decisions. Their modern decision engine helps teams in lending, insurance, and fintech manage complex workflows without writing code.
| Headquarters | New York, New York, United States |
| Year Founded | 2020 |
| Founders | Dr. Maximilian Eber, Maik Taro Wehmeyer |
| Funding Amount | $78.7M |
| Startup Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Series B |
| Top Investors | Plug and Play, Index Ventures, Y Combinator, Tiger Global Management, Prosus Ventures |
Simpl offers a cardless payment network that gives consumers a one-tap checkout experience across thousands of online merchants. The fintech platform helps retailers increase conversions and provides a suite of tools for managing transactions and preventing fraud.
| Headquarters | Bangalore, Karnataka, India |
| Year Founded | 2015 |
| Founders | Chaitra Chidanand, Nityanand Sharma |
| Funding Amount | $71.7M |
| Startup Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Series B |
| Top Investors | Franklin Templeton, FJ Labs, Valar Ventures, Green Visor Capital, Recruit Strategic Partners |
90 Additional Lending Startups Worth Following
Our top ten picks offer a glimpse into the lending space, but there's a lot more happening. Together, the remaining companies on our list have raised over $20 billion, tackling everything from personal loans to enterprise finance.
While many are fintech startups, you'll also find companies using AI and crypto to build new products. Here’s a look at the other ninety startups making an impact on the lending scene.
| Startup | Main Industry | Year Founded | Amount Raised | Last Funding Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 LendOS | Fintech | 2022 | $17.9M | Series A |
 Climb Credit | Fintech | 2014 | $68.6M | Venture Round |
 PenFed Credit Union | Fintech | 1935 | $845.9M | Debt Financing |
 GoodLeap | Fintech | 2003 | $1.2B | Debt Financing |
 Kiavi | Fintech | 2013 | $1.5B | Debt Financing |
 Caribou | Mobility | 2016 | $189.1M | Series C |
 Beehive | Fintech | 2014 | $151.6M | Debt Financing |
 Ignosis | Analytics | 2022 | $4M | Seed |
 Mesa | Enterprise | 2023 | $34.7M | Seed |
 Aequum Capital | Fintech | 2020 | $337.3M | Debt Financing |
 Zopa | Fintech | 2005 | $1.2B | Debt Financing |
 FairPlay | AI | 2020 | $24.5M | Venture Round |
 Abhi | Media | 2021 | $57.8M | Debt Financing |
 Kiwi | Fintech | 2020 | $90.8M | Series A |
 Prosper Marketplace | Fintech | 2005 | $503.5M | Debt Financing |
 Avant | Fintech | 2012 | $2.1B | Debt Financing |
 FinbotsAI | Marketing | 2017 | $7.4M | Convertible Note |
 Daylit | Enterprise | 2020 | $111.5M | Venture Round |
 Apollo PK AirFinance | Fintech | 1983 | $1.6B | Debt Financing |
 Milo | Crypto | 2019 | $88M | Debt Financing |
 Turnkey Lender | Enterprise | 2014 | $24M | Venture Round |
 Alt | Fintech | 2020 | $146M | Debt Financing |
 Peachtree Group | Fintech | 2007 | $150M | Debt Financing |
 Fora Financial | Fintech | 2008 | $482.9M | Debt Financing |
 Amartha | Fintech | 2010 | $431.6M | Debt Financing |
 Morpho Labs | Crypto | 2021 | $68M | Venture Round |
 Mynt | Fintech | 2015 | $1.3B | Secondary Market |
 Kissht | Fintech | 2015 | $142.5M | Series E |
 iwoca | Fintech | 2011 | $1.5B | Debt Financing |
 Marco | Fintech | 2019 | $338.4M | Series A |
 KEO World | Fintech | 2020 | $520M | Venture Round |
 3650 Capital | Real Estate | 2018 | $215M | Undisclosed |
 Built Technologies | Fintech | 2014 | $312.7M | Venture Round |
 Resistant AI | AI | 2019 | $30.4M | Corporate Round |
 CrossCountry Mortgage | Fintech | 2003 | $1.3B | Debt Financing |
 Ripio | Crypto | 2013 | $94.4M | Series B |
 Lendo | Fintech | 2019 | $775.2M | Debt Financing |
 Lendingkart | Fintech | 2014 | $325.7M | Debt Financing |
 Credright | Fintech | 2016 | $23.5M | Series B |
 R2 | Hardware | 2020 | $180M | Debt Financing |
 Avanse Financial Services | Education | 2013 | $374.9M | Private Equity |
 Zilch | Fintech | 2018 | $646M | Debt Financing |
 Aye Finance | Fintech | 2014 | $779.9M | Debt Financing |
 Investree | Enterprise | 2015 | $265.3M | Series D |
 AND Global | Fintech | 2015 | $76.1M | Series B |
 Snapmint | Fintech | 2015 | $47.8M | Series B |
 finmid | Fintech | 2021 | $35.6M | Series A |
 JULO | Fintech | 2016 | $155M | Debt Financing |
 Financeit | Fintech | 2007 | $570.6M | Debt Financing |
 Covalto | Fintech | 2015 | $521.3M | Debt Financing |
 Kredivo Group | Fintech | 2015 | $750M | Series D |
 Hiranandani Financial Services | Enterprise | 2017 | ₹8B | Private Equity |
 Funding Societies | Fintech | 2015 | $719.6M | Venture Round |
 Abound | Fintech | 2020 | £1.6B | Debt Financing |
 Fazz | Fintech | 2016 | $179.4M | Venture Round |
 Gojo & Company | Fintech | 2014 | $428.5M | Series F |
 Lendsqr | Fintech | 2018 | $1M | Grant |
 Updraft | Fintech | 2017 | £469.3M | Debt Financing |
 MQube | AI | 2018 | £18M | Series A |
 Stashfin | Media | 2016 | $451.2M | Debt Financing |
 Froda | Fintech | 2015 | $161.8M | Series B |
 Moneyview | Fintech | 2014 | $188.3M | Venture Round |
 Ziraat bank | Fintech | 2014 | $1.2B | Debt Financing |
 Lentra | Fintech | 2019 | $103.6M | Series B |
 Firenze | Fintech | 2023 | £163.3M | Seed |
 Kinara Capital | Enterprise | 2011 | $178M | Debt Financing |
 Hero FinCorp | Fintech | 1991 | ₹27B | Private Equity |
 Mintifi | Fintech | 2017 | $346.2M | Series E |
 Ascend Money | Enterprise | 2015 | $345M | Series D |
 Baubap | Fintech | 2018 | $143.6M | Debt Financing |
 Primex Finance | Crypto | 2021 | $5.7M | Seed |
 Rupeek | Fintech | 2015 | $209.8M | Venture Round |
 F88 | Retail | 2013 | $215.8M | Debt Financing |
 Tesseract | Fintech | 2017 | $25.4M | Series A |
 Arohan Financial | Fintech | 2006 | $64M | Venture Round |
 Kueski | Fintech | 2012 | $323.3M | Venture Round |
 CapBay | Fintech | 2016 | $27.6M | Corporate Round |
 LenDenClub | Fintech | 2015 | $11.6M | Series A |
 Eduvanz | Fintech | 2016 | $51.4M | Debt Financing |
 GetVantage | Fintech | 2019 | $41M | Series A |
 WeRize | Fintech | 2019 | $25.8M | Series B |
 Indel Money | Fintech | 1986 | ₹1.5B | Debt Financing |
 Nexo | Crypto | 2018 | €52.5M | Seed |
 Nexu | Fintech | 2014 | $73M | Series B |
 Altscore | Fintech | 2021 | $12.4M | Series A |
 Flowpay | Hardware | 2021 | $35.9M | Debt Financing |
 Alex Bank | Fintech | 2018 | $78.3M | Series E |
 Crediclub | Fintech | 2005 | $80M | Private Equity |
 Lendi | Fintech | 2013 | $59.5M | Venture Round |
 Nagro | AgTech | 2017 | $50.4M | Debt Financing |
