Investment to be used for North America expansion
Rich Data Co (RDC), an AI decisioning platform that enables banks to make high-quality lending decisions efficiently and safely, has successfully closed a $28 million Series B funding round.
The investment, spearheaded by Westpac and global cloud banking leader nCino, with support from BMYG and Octava Fund, is earmarked for accelerating RDC’s expansion into North America.
Founded in 2016, RDC employs explainable AI to provide banks with insights into borrower behaviour, facilitating more accurate and efficient lending decisions. RDC has already played a crucial role in major banks in Australia and New Zealand, including Westpac's business lending operations.
Over the last 18 months, RDC has strategically expanded into North America. In late 2022, the company entered into a global resale agreement with nCino, allowing nCino’s business and commercial lending customers to enhance their lending processes with RDC’s AI decisioning capabilities.
Ada Guan (pictured above), RDC CEO and co-founder, said the investment will fortify relationships with Westpac, deepen the partnership with nCino, and position RDC for continued industry leadership in AI decisioning.
“Securing such a significant amount of investment within challenging fundraising conditions speaks to the opportunity that Rich Data Co’s AI decisioning platform offers the industry,” Guan said.
Shane Howell, managing director business lending at Westpac, said it’s the bank’s ambition to empower Australian businesses to achieve their goals, and partnering with RDC enabled them to do just that.
“Since January, we have benefited from partnering with the global innovator RDC, enabling faster decisions for customers by using RDC’s decisioning tool and advanced analytic techniques, meaning cash is in our customers hands quicker, particularly important in these economic times,” Howell said.
Anthony Potts, head of strategic investments at Westpac also commented on the big bank’s investment.
“Westpac’s investment in RDC reflects our strategy to pursue meaningful capability partnerships, investments, and acquisitions,” Potts said. “With the rapid evolution of AI, our strategic investment not only enhances our business lending offer but also allows us to stay close to global developments as RDC scales internationally.”
Davis Brannan, executive vice presiden of ecosystem and strategic growth at nCino, takes pride in the company's legacy of aiding financial institutions in transforming and outperforming, emphasising the crucial role of partnerships in fostering innovation and delivering value to customers rapidly.
“We see the technology from RDC supporting elements of our nIQ and intelligence capabilities, and we’re excited to strengthen our collaboration with this investment,” Brannan said.
Get the hottest and freshest mortgage news delivered right into your inbox. Subscribe now to our FREE daily newsletter.
