Kaaj is an agentic-AI-powered credit intelligence platform designed to make small business loans economically viable for lenders. It uses agentic AI workflows to help lenders analyze end-to-end loan packages and create decision-ready analysis for small business lending, reducing lender costs and accelerating decision-making. Tasks that previously took days of manual work are completed in under three minutes using Kaaj.

For decades, small business lending in the U.S. has been broken. According to research from Goldman Sachs, 77% of small business owners say they can’t access the capital they need to grow, and more than half say it’s harder today to get a loan than it was five years ago. That’s because loans under $1 million simply aren’t profitable for banks to process. It takes the same time and effort to underwrite $100,000 as $5 million, which means lenders focus on the latter.

Small business formation has surged to record levels over the past two years, with U.S. small businesses now numbering more than 33 million. These businesses require capital to grow, and often that takes the form of credit. However, accessing that capital is a major challenge. 

According to the Federal Reserve 2024 Small Business Credit Survey, approximately 50% of small business loan applicants fail to receive the full amount of capital they need. That could be the difference between being able to open a new site to fulfil orders or struggling to meet customer demand; being able to hire new staff or current teams being overstretched; acquiring vital equipment, or being stuck with old, inefficient assets that hamper rather than enable growth. In short, a failure to access the full capital they need is leaving businesses undercapitalized at crucial growth stages.

Kaaj has already processed over $5 billion in loan applications and has a growing customer base of lenders and brokers with industry-leading companies like Amur Equipment Finance, Quality Equipment Finance, and Fundr.

Kaaj’s founding team combines deep AI expertise and risk experience. Utsav Shah, co-founder and CEO, spent a decade at Uber and Cruise, building AI-powered decision-making systems at scale. Shivi Sharma, co-founder and President, is an expert in credit and fraud risk, formerly of American Express, Uber, and Varo Bank.

While there are other companies that automate parts of the credit analysis process, Kaaj is the only one to cover the entire journey, from business verification and cash flow analysis to asset valuation, financial analysis, and risk assessment.