Sells AI-automated underwriting models, priced and built per lender, to banks, credit unions and specialty lenders, and cross-sells fraud detection (Zest Protect) and a generative-AI lending-intelligence assistant (LuLu) into the same customer base.
What is Zest AI, and which banks use it?
Zest AI, founded 2009, Burbank, California, sells AI-automated credit-underwriting models to banks and credit unions, plus Zest Protect (fraud detection, 2024) and LuLu (a generative-AI lending assistant, 2024). It says it works with nearly 300 lenders, and reports $200 million from Insight Partners (December 2024) plus an undisclosed customer round (November 2025). Among our 100 banks, Zest AI names Zions Bank as selecting it (August 2026) and First Hawaiian Bank as running a customized model (June 2025); pricing is not published, and its results are unaudited vendor claims.
Category
Founded
2009
Headquarters
Burbank, California
Ownership
Private; backed by Insight Partners (three investments since 2020, including a $200 million growth round in December 2024), Lightspeed Venture Partners, Upfront Ventures, Matrix Partners and Citi Ventures, plus a November 2025 round led by five customers (SchoolsFirst, Members 1st, ORNL and Truliant federal credit unions, and Citi). No amount was disclosed for the November 2025 round and no valuation is published.[4][5][6]
Deployment
SaaS
Pricing
Sales-led, per-lender enterprise contracts; not published. · not published
Banks among the 100
2
- Founded 2009 as a credit-underwriting technology company; headquartered in Burbank, California; says it works with nearly 300 lenders across banks, credit unions and specialty lenders (as of November 2025).
- Three product lines: AI-automated underwriting (the original product), Zest Protect fraud detection (launched August 2024) and LuLu, a generative-AI lending-intelligence assistant (launched February 2024, expanded with 'LuLu Strategy' in May 2025).
- Raised a $200 million growth investment from Insight Partners in December 2024 (Insight's third and largest investment since 2020) and, in November 2025, an oversubscribed round led by five customers -- SchoolsFirst, Members 1st, ORNL and Truliant federal credit unions, and Citi via Citi Ventures -- with the amount undisclosed.
- Reports 77% bookings growth in the first half of 2026 and active AI models in production scaling from about 600 (mid-2024) to over 1,200 (Q1 2026) to more than 1,500 (August 2026), all vendor-reported.
- Fair-lending claims are Zest AI's own: it says its models lift approval rates by an average of 25% without added risk and, in a 2024 release, cites average approval gains of 49% for Latino, 41% for Black, 40% for women, 36% for elderly and 31% for AAPI applicants while holding risk constant -- unaudited, vendor-reported figures.
- Pricing is not published; Zest AI sells through sales-led, per-lender contracts (a 2025 'LuLu Strategy' landing page mentions 'tiered pricing options' and a 'limited-time special pricing offer' with no figures).
- Rodney E. Hood, a former NCUA Chairman, joined Zest AI's board in February 2024 and rejoined it in September 2025, when Zest AI's release described him as a former Acting Comptroller of the Currency, NCUA Chairman and FDIC director.
What does Zest AI sell to banks?
| Product | What it does | Status |
|---|---|---|
| AI-Automated Underwriting[9] | Custom machine-learning credit-decisioning models built per lender for consumer and specialty lending; Zest AI says clients range from institutions processing about 100 to more than 600,000 applications a year. | Generally available |
| Zest Protect[7][10][12] | AI-powered fraud detection integrated into the loan-decisioning process, covering identity, first- and third-party fraud behavior, and income-discrepancy detection; launched August 2024 with a pilot among select credit union customers, since reported as part of Zest AI's broader commercial fraud-solution adoption. | Generally available |
| LuLu (LuLu AI Lending Intelligence)[8][11][12] | Generative-AI assistant that answers natural-language questions about a lender's performance, benchmarks and portfolio data; unveiled February 2024, piloted with credit unions including ORNL FCU and HawaiiUSA FCU, and by 2026 adopted by credit union leagues Cornerstone and GoWest to serve more than 900 member credit unions. | Generally available |
How much does Zest AI cost?
How it is charged: Sales-led, per-lender enterprise contracts; not published..
Zest AI does not publish a price list.
Pricing is not published; Zest AI sells through custom, sales-led contracts scoped to each lender's model build and application volume. A 2025 LuLu Strategy page references 'flexible terms and tiered pricing options' and a 'limited-time special pricing offer' without stating figures, so no plan price can be cited.
Which banks use Zest AI?
| Bank | What | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Zions Bancorporation | AI lending decisions[2] | Selected |
| First Hawaiian, Inc. | Custom AI underwriting model for credit cards[3] | In production |
Among the 100 largest US banks on this site, from sources that name the bank: the bank, Zest AI or the press. Status is the furthest stage a source confirms.
What is Zest AI-Automated Underwriting?
Client-tailored machine-learning credit models built for each lender, positioned by Zest AI as using more data variables than traditional scorecards; the company says the technology can accurately assess 98% of American adults, lift approval rates roughly 25% without added risk, and auto-decision 80% of applications, while reducing risk by 20%-plus when approvals are held constant (Zest AI's own figures).[9]
What has Zest AI done, and when?
- Aug 5, 2026
H1 2026: Zions Bank and Hawaii State FCU select Zest AI[2]
Zest AI's first-half 2026 results release says Zions Bank and Hawaii State Federal Credit Union selected Zest AI in the second quarter of 2026 to strengthen their lending decisions, alongside 77% first-half bookings growth.
- Apr 23, 2026
Q1 2026: GenAI and fraud adoption triples[12]
Zest AI reports tripled adoption of LuLu and Zest Protect, active AI models in production scaling from about 600 to over 1,200, and Cornerstone League and GoWest Credit Union Association adopting LuLu for more than 900 member credit unions.
- Nov 4, 2025
Customer-led financing round[5][6]
An oversubscribed round led by five Zest AI customers -- SchoolsFirst, Members 1st, ORNL and Truliant federal credit unions, and Citi through Citi Ventures -- closes; Zest AI says it reflects a higher valuation than its prior round, but the amount raised was not disclosed.
- Sep 3, 2025
Rodney Hood rejoins the board[14]
Rodney E. Hood, by then described by Zest AI as a former Acting Comptroller of the Currency, NCUA Chairman and FDIC director, rejoins Zest AI's board of directors.
- Jun 5, 2025
First Hawaiian Bank case study published[3]
Zest AI publishes a case study reporting that First Hawaiian Bank's customized credit-card underwriting model lifted automated decisions from 4% to 55% of applications and instant approvals from 4% to 40% in its first year (vendor-reported).
- May 5, 2025
LuLu Strategy launches[17]
A new LuLu model focused on strategic, benchmark-driven lending intelligence, initially available exclusively to customers of loan-origination platform MeridianLink.
- Dec 13, 2024
$200 million growth investment from Insight Partners[4]
Insight Partners' third and largest investment in Zest AI since 2020, to fund product development and M&A across underwriting, fraud and generative AI.
- Aug 7, 2024
Zest Protect debuts[7]
Zest AI launches Zest Protect, an AI fraud-detection product for loan decisioning, piloted with select credit union customers.
- Feb 29, 2024
LuLu unveiled[8]
Zest AI launches LuLu, a generative-AI lending-intelligence assistant, piloted with credit union customers including ORNL Federal Credit Union and HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union.
- Feb 14, 2024
Rodney E. Hood joins the board[13]
Former NCUA Board Chairman Rodney E. Hood joins Zest AI's five-person board, alongside Upfront Ventures partner Aditi Maliwal, Matrix Partners general partner Dana Stalder and Insight Partners managing director Jon Rosenbaum.
- Jan 1, 2009
What do banks use Zest AI for?
| Use | What it does | Status | Use case |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI-automated underwriting[9] | Custom machine-learning credit-decisioning models that score and auto-decision consumer loan applications. | In production | Credit scoring & underwriting |
| Bias-reduction and fair-lending documentation[9][13] | Zest AI markets adversarial de-biasing and less-discriminatory-alternative (LDA) search techniques, and says its models lift approval rates for protected classes while holding risk constant (vendor-reported, unaudited). | In production | Fair lending & discrimination |
| Zest Protect fraud detection[10] | Scores loan applications for identity, first-party and third-party fraud and income discrepancies as part of the decisioning flow. | In production | Fraud detection |
| LuLu lending-intelligence assistant[11][12] | Generative-AI tool that answers natural-language questions about a lender's approval rates, benchmarks and portfolio performance. | In production | Generative & agentic AI |
| Loan-origination-system integrations[16][12] | Zest AI's underwriting and fraud models are integrated into loan-origination and lending platforms including Temenos, MeridianLink, Origence, Fiserv and others, so a bank's AI decisioning runs inside its existing LOS. | In production | Third-party & vendor AI |
What has Zest AI disclosed in numbers?
| Metric | Value | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Growth investment (Insight Partners) | $200 million[4] | Dec 13, 2024 |
| Customer count (vendor-reported) | nearly 300 lenders[5] | Nov 4, 2025 |
| Active AI models in production (vendor-reported) | over 1,200 (Q1 2026), rising through 2026[12] | Apr 23, 2026 |
| H1 2026 bookings growth (vendor-reported) | 77% year-over-year growth in first-half bookings[2] | Aug 5, 2026 |
| Approval lift across protected classes (vendor-reported, unaudited) | 49% Latino, 41% Black, 40% women, 36% elderly, 31% AAPI applicants, holding risk constant[13] | Feb 14, 2024 |
| First Hawaiian Bank credit-card automation (vendor-reported case study) | automated decisions up from 4% to 55% of applications; instant approvals up from 4% to 40%, in the first year[3] | Jun 5, 2025 |
“The momentum we're seeing reflects a broader shift in how financial institutions are approaching AI. Lenders are making larger investments, deploying AI more quickly, and expanding its use across the lending lifecycle–from underwriting and fraud prevention to lending intelligence.”[2]
Mike de Vere · Chief Executive Officer, Zest AI · Aug 5, 2026
“Having our customers become investors is the ultimate validation of our technology and vision.”[5]
Mike de Vere · Chief Executive Officer, Zest AI · Nov 4, 2025
“I've seen lending from every angle–as a regulator, as a banker, and as someone who cares deeply about economic empowerment.”[14]
Rodney E. Hood · Zest AI board member; former Acting Comptroller of the Currency and NCUA Chairman · Sep 3, 2025
Who runs Zest AI?
Which rules apply to a bank using Zest AI?
| Authority | Why it matters here | Documents |
|---|---|---|
| CFPB | A bank using Zest AI's underwriting output must still issue accurate ECOA/Regulation B adverse-action notices and FCRA key-factor disclosures for AI-driven credit decisions, and the CFPB's 2026 Regulation B final rule touches disparate-impact and special-purpose-credit-program analysis that fair-lending-focused underwriting models feed into. | ECOA / Regulation B adverse action (15 U.S.C. 1691(d); 12 CFR 1002.9) FCRA adverse action and credit-score disclosures (15 U.S.C. 1681m, 1681g(f)) Regulation B final rule on disparate impact (April 2026) |
| Federal Reserve | A bank supervised by the Federal Reserve must bring a third-party underwriting model like Zest AI's under SR 26-2's model-risk-management expectations: validation, ongoing monitoring and documented limitations. | SR 26-2 |
| OCC | For an OCC-supervised bank, deploying Zest AI's underwriting, fraud and LuLu models triggers both model-risk-management guidance and third-party-relationship risk-management expectations, since the models and their outputs are supplied and maintained by an outside vendor. | OCC Bulletin 2026-13 OCC Bulletin 2023-17 |
| NCUA | Many of Zest AI's disclosed customers are credit unions; the NCUA's 2025 board briefing on AI sets out the examination lens credit unions should expect when they adopt a vendor AI underwriting or fraud-detection tool like Zest AI's. | NCUA Board AI briefing (Jul 2025) |
Linked authorities have a page in the AI Regulation Tracker; the others are named for completeness.
What should a bank note before buying Zest AI?
Analysis by BankingNewsAI from the sources cited on this page. Observations, not advice or a recommendation.
01
Every performance figure on this page is Zest AI's own
Approval-rate lifts, risk-reduction percentages, protected-class approval gains and the First Hawaiian case-study numbers are all vendor-reported and unaudited; none is drawn from an independent study, regulator finding or customer's own public disclosure.
02
Pricing requires a sales conversation
Zest AI publishes no price list or pricing page; the one public reference to pricing (a 2025 LuLu Strategy landing page) mentions 'tiered pricing options' without a figure.
03
Bank-page evidence is thin relative to Zest AI's credit-union base
Zest AI's own releases describe nearly 300 lender customers and named credit union investors, but only two of our 100 largest US banks -- Zions and First Hawaiian -- are named as customers with a checkable source; most of Zest AI's public customer references are credit unions outside that set.
04
Status labels differ for the two named banks
Zions Bank is described only as having 'selected' Zest AI (August 2026, scope undisclosed); First Hawaiian's relationship is documented in more depth, with a named product (credit-card underwriting) and a first-year usage curve from a June 2025 case study.
05
The board includes a former head of two of its customers' regulators
Rodney Hood sat on Zest AI's board from February 2024 and rejoined it in September 2025, after serving as Acting Comptroller of the Currency; Zest AI's releases describe him as a former NCUA Chairman and former Acting Comptroller. Buyers weighing regulatory familiarity should note the record shows the roles held at different times.
What are the alternatives to Zest AI?
Provenir
Cloud decisioning platform for credit risk, fraud and identity, with a data marketplace, case management and AI models.
FICO
FICO Platform decisioning and analytics software for origination, account management and fraud (Falcon), plus the FICO Score.
Scienaptic AI
AI credit-decisioning models and platform for consumer lending, mainly US credit unions, with fraud checks and an agentic AI layer (iCUE).
Taktile
Low-code decision engine and AI-agent platform for credit underwriting, onboarding, fraud and AML decisions at lenders and insurers.
How much does Zest AI cost?
Zest AI does not publish pricing. It sells AI-automated underwriting, fraud detection and lending-intelligence products through individually scoped, sales-led contracts, typically involving a proof of concept, custom model build and integration into the lender's loan-origination system. The only public reference to pricing structure -- a 2025 LuLu Strategy page -- mentions 'tiered pricing options' without stating a figure.
Which of the largest US banks use Zest AI?
Among the 100 largest US banks tracked on this site, Zest AI's own releases name two customers: Zions Bank, which Zest AI's August 2026 first-half results say selected its AI lending technology in Q2 2026 (scope not disclosed), and First Hawaiian Bank, whose customized Zest AI credit-card underwriting model is the subject of a June 2025 vendor case study reporting automated decisions rising from 4% to 55% of applications in the first year.
Who owns Zest AI?
Zest AI is privately held. Its investors, per its own announcements, include Insight Partners (which has invested three times since 2020, most recently $200 million in December 2024), Lightspeed Venture Partners, Upfront Ventures, Matrix Partners and Citi Ventures, plus a November 2025 round led by five customer credit unions and Citi. No valuation has been published by Zest AI or in an allowed source.
Is Zest AI a bank or a regulated financial institution?
No. Zest AI is a private technology vendor that sells underwriting, fraud-detection and lending-intelligence software to banks and credit unions; it is not itself a chartered bank or credit union and is not directly supervised by the federal banking agencies, though its bank and credit union customers must manage it under their own model-risk and third-party-vendor oversight requirements.
What does Zest AI sell besides credit underwriting?
Beyond its original AI-automated underwriting product, Zest AI sells Zest Protect, an AI fraud-detection tool launched in August 2024 that screens loan applications for identity, first-party, third-party and income-discrepancy fraud, and LuLu, a generative-AI lending-intelligence assistant launched in February 2024 that answers natural-language questions about a lender's approval rates and portfolio performance.
Are Zest AI's fair-lending results independently verified?
No independently audited fair-lending results are published. Zest AI's claims -- such as a 2024 release citing average approval-rate gains of 49% for Latino, 41% for Black, 40% for women, 36% for elderly and 31% for AAPI applicants while holding risk constant -- are the company's own reported figures, not findings from a regulator, academic study or customer disclosure.
- About Us
- Zest AI Delivers Record First Half, Fueled by 77% Growth as Lenders Scale AI
- First Hawaiian Bank says "yes" to AI-automated underwriting (customer success story)
- Zest AI Announces $200 Million Growth Investment from Insight Partners
- Zest AI Secures Strategic Investment from Customers in Oversubscribed Round
- Zest AI Secures Strategic Investment for AI-Powered Lending Solutions
- Zest AI Debuts AI-Powered Fraud Detection for Lenders
- Zest AI Unveils First AI Lending Intelligence Companion
- AI Credit Underwriting & Automated Credit Decisioning
- AI Fraud Detection
- Lending Intelligence
- Zest AI Sees Tripled Growth in GenAI and Fraud Solution Adoption as Financial Institutions Scale AI in Production
- Former NCUA Chairman Rodney E. Hood Joins Zest AI's Board of Directors
- Former Acting Comptroller of the Currency and NCUA Chairman Rodney E. Hood Rejoins Zest AI Board
- Fireside chat: AI-driven lending
- Zest AI's Credit Decisioning and Fraud Detection Now Seamlessly Integrated with Temenos Loan Origination Solution
- Zest AI Debuts LuLu Strategy for GenAI-Powered Lending Intelligence
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