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Sydney-based fintech scale-up Rich Data Co, which employs artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance sustainable lending decisions for business and commercial lenders, has rounded out a $37 million Series B capital raise after securing an additional $9 million investment from Acorn Capital.
The funding boost will help Rich Data Co accelerate its expansion into North America, where the company says significant demand for advanced AI solutions is driving growth.
The latest investment by Acorn Capital, a private equity group that seeks out the next generation of Australian corporate successes, comes on the heels of the initial Series B close of $28 million in November.
The initial round was led by Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX: WBC) and global cloud banking group nCino (NASDAQ: NCNO).
Rich Data Co was founded in 2016 by Ada Guan, Charles Guan, Gordon Campbell and Michael Coomer. Ada Guan, a former Westpac program manager and former Oracle director, is the CEO of the company, while Campbell is a former Oracle colleague.
The company’s platform is said to enable banks to make “high-quality lending decisions efficiently and safely” by leveraging advanced explainable AI technology.
Rich Data Co also points out that the platform allows banks to deliver “more meaningful customer interactions, improve credit outcomes and increase lending”.
The scale-up has been actively expanding its team and operations in North America over the past two years.
In May, Rich Data Co signed its first US customer, M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE: MTB), the sixth largest commercial bank in North America.
“Acorn Capital has a strong track-record in helping companies rapidly scale and their strategic support is invaluable to us,” says Ada Guan.
“We were pleased to extend our Series B funding round to include their investment.
“This capital injection ensures we have the runway needed to significantly grow our North American operations.
“Our recent partnership with nCino and M&T Bank highlights our commitment to expanding our footprint and delivering a cutting-edge AI decisioning platform that enhances risk management, lending strategies and regulatory compliance for financial institutions.”
Acorn Capital’s investment director Andrew Burt says the investment in Rich Data Co aligns with the private equity group’s mission to find emerging Australian companies that demonstrate “a strong product-market fit, possess a sustainable competitive advantage and are highly scalable”.
“Rich Data Co is a clear market leader in developing and commercialising AI that enables banks to drive both stronger growth in lending and efficiency in credit management,” says Burt.
“We look forward to working with Ada and the Rich Data Co team to support their continued success in commercialising Rich data Co’s proprietary technology in Australia and internationally, with a particular focus rapid expansion in the US market.”
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