With backing from Kindred Ventures and fintech veterans, the startup is using AI agents to cut underwriting time from days to minutes and unlock smaller loan markets
Kaaj Secures $3.8 Mn to Fix Small Loan Economics
San Francisco-based AI credit intelligence startup Kaaj has raised $3.8 Mn (~INR 33.7 Cr) in seed funding to automate and scale small-business underwriting in the US. The round was led by Kindred Ventures, with participation from Better Tomorrow Ventures, Karman Ventures, Pythia Ventures, and Coughdrop Capital.
- The raise also saw participation from fintech and AI leaders including Soups Ranjan (Sardine AI), Rahul Ramesh (Brex), and Remy Carole (TreasuryPrime).
- Kaaj plans to expand into the $1.7 Tn US small business lending market and the $1.3 Tn equipment finance segment.
Solving a Critical Lending Bottleneck
Co-founded in 2024 by Utsav Shah and Shivi Sharma, Kaaj is tackling a key issue in SME finance: underwriting inefficiency.
- According to the US Federal Reserve’s 2024 Small Business Credit Survey, over 50% of small businesses fail to secure full funding, largely due to the high cost of underwriting small-value loans (typically under $1 Mn).
- Lenders often avoid such loans because manual processes make them unprofitable.
Kaaj’s solution? Agentic AI-powered infrastructure that can:
- Assess loan packages — including business verification, cash-flow analysis, asset valuation, and risk profiling —
- And return a decision-ready file in under three minutes.
AI Agents Driving Faster, Standardised Lending
Kaaj uses agentic AI workflows, which operate independently, learn from patterns, and automate decision chains typically handled by humans.
The platform brings several competitive advantages:
- Speed: Underwriting reduced from days to minutes
- Consistency: Eliminates human variability across decisions
- Transparency: All outputs are audit-ready and regulation-compliant
- Integrations: Plug-and-play with Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, HubSpot, Zoho, and more
“Kaaj’s tech makes small loans viable again,” say lenders frustrated by high operational costs and long approval cycles.
Strong Early Traction
Despite being less than a year old, Kaaj has:
- Processed over $5 Bn in loan applications
- Signed on notable customers like Amur Equipment Finance, Quality Equipment Finance, and Fundr
- Proven rapid onboarding within 3 weeks for lenders and brokers
This early success gives it a strong foundation as it eyes larger chunks of the US SMB finance ecosystem.
Riding the Agentic AI Wave
Kaaj’s funding comes amid a boom in agentic AI, a niche within the broader generative AI landscape.
Other 2025 fundraises in this space include:
- UnifyApps: $50 Mn for enterprise AI stacks
- Lyzr: $8 Mn for building custom AI agents
- Mem0: $24 Mn for AI memory infra
- Graas.ai: $9 Mn to enhance ecommerce AI stacks
The agentic AI market hit $5.1 Bn in 2024, as automation demands rise across sectors. In parallel, India’s GenAI market—home to over 100 startups—is projected to cross $17 Bn by 2030.
What’s Next for Kaaj
Kaaj will use the seed funding to:
- Accelerate product development for its AI agent infrastructure
- Expand sales and partnerships in the US lending ecosystem
- Deepen its offering in the equipment financing vertical
Founders Shah and Sharma bring complementary expertise—AI decisioning at Uber and Cruise, and credit risk at American Express and Varo Bank—to push Kaaj into a strategic position in modern financial infrastructure.
