Kaaj, a credit intelligence startup, has secured $3.8 million in seed funding to scale its agentic AI platform for small business lending. The round is led by Kindred Ventures, with participation from Better Tomorrow Ventures, Karman Ventures, Pythia Ventures, Coughdrop Capital and several angel investors. The company aims to tackle structural inefficiencies that keep many small businesses from accessing the full amount of capital they need.
Market Context
More than half of small business loan applicants currently fail to obtain adequate funding, even when they are fundamentally creditworthy. The core problem lies in the economics of underwriting, where loans under $1 million cost nearly as much to assess as larger tickets, making them unattractive for many lenders. As a result, millions of small businesses face slow processes, partial approvals or rejections that reflect operational constraints rather than true risk.
Kaaj’s Agentic AI Platform
Kaaj’s platform uses agentic AI to automate the end-to-end credit analysis workflow for small business lending. It ingests applications, verifies businesses, analyzes cash flows, values assets and generates credit memos, producing a holistic risk view in minutes instead of days. According to the company, underwriting cycles that normally require teams to review thousands of documents are reduced to under three minutes, delivering decision-ready outputs to lenders.
Impact on Lenders and Small Businesses
By compressing underwriting time and effort, Kaaj claims lenders can process up to four times more loan applications with the same headcount. This throughput allows financial institutions to make smaller loans economically viable and to approve more deals without sacrificing diligence. At the same time, brokers can connect borrowers to better-matched lenders, and small businesses gain faster access to the capital they need to expand operations.
Traction and Customer Base
Despite being at the seed stage, Kaaj reports that it has already processed over $5 billion in loan applications through its platform. The company serves established industry players such as Amur Equipment Finance, Quality Equipment Finance and Fundr, highlighting an early foothold within specialized lending segments. This level of volume suggests growing confidence among lenders in AI-driven decision support for small business credit.
Leadership Perspective
“Time kills deals in small business lending,” says Utsav Shah, CEO and Co-Founder of Kaaj, emphasizing that speed can be decisive when multiple lenders compete for the same high-quality borrowers. He argues that the combination of rapid analysis and comprehensive risk insight allows institutions using Kaaj to move first while still maintaining robust underwriting standards. The company positions its technology as an enabler of better outcomes for both lenders and entrepreneurs.
Investor Perspectives
Investors see Kaaj as a potential solution to long-standing structural friction in small business finance. Kanyi Maqubela, Managing Partner at Kindred Ventures, notes that the high cost of underwriting smaller loans has historically failed to line up with their returns, leaving many businesses underserved. Better Tomorrow Ventures Founding Partner Jake Gibson adds that Kaaj’s team brings a rare mix of deep AI capability and credit risk expertise, positioning the firm to build foundational infrastructure for the next wave of small business lenders.
Focus on Transparency and Governance
Beyond efficiency, investors highlight Kaaj’s emphasis on transparency and oversight in AI-driven underwriting. Better Tomorrow Ventures Co-Founder and General Partner Sheel Mohnot points to the company’s focus on building audit-ready systems that augment rather than replace human judgment. This approach is designed to support regulatory compliance and institutional risk frameworks while still delivering the speed and scalability promised by AI.
Funding Use and Strategic Priorities
The seed capital will be used to accelerate product development, enhance the core AI engine and strengthen integrations with lending and brokerage systems. Kaaj also plans to expand its team across technology, risk and customer success functions to support growing demand from financial institutions. In parallel, the company intends to deepen partnerships with lenders and brokers that share its goal of expanding fair access to working capital for small businesses.
Kaaj’s seed round underscores rising investor conviction in AI-powered solutions that target the economics of small business lending rather than just its user interface. With substantial early transaction volume and backing from specialist fintech and AI investors, the company is positioning itself as an infrastructure player in an underserved segment of the credit market. If it delivers on its promises of speed, transparency and scalability, Kaaj could help reshape how capital flows to the 33 million small businesses that underpin the broader economy.