In 2020, Abound was born from a realization by our co-founders Gerald Chappell and Michelle He, who spent years helping banks improve credit decisioning. They discovered that traditional lending systems were fundamentally broken - relying too heavily on single credit scores while ignoring the full financial picture. So they built something better: a platform that combines AI and Open Banking data to truly understand each applicant's unique financial situation. By looking at income, spending habits, and what customers can actually afford to repay, Abound makes fairer credit decisions that work for real people, not just algorithms.
Since launching, we've issued over £1.5 billion in loans with market-leading credit performance - seeing 70% fewer defaults than industry benchmarks. Named the fastest-growing tech company in the UK by The Sunday Times, we've reached profitability just 2.5 years after launch. Backed by £2.2 billion from investors including Citi, GSR Ventures, and Deutsche Bank, we're expanding beyond direct lending to power white-label lending platforms for businesses. Our technology doesn't just make faster decisions; it makes smarter ones, helping more people access affordable credit while delivering sustainable growth.