AI-driven risk analytics for consumer auto finance, with a decisioning engine trained on 20M+ loan outcomes that has processed $5B+ in auto loans across 20,000+ lenders and dealerships.
Karus had built powerful AI underwriting models, trained on tens of millions of loan outcomes, but lenders couldn’t easily act on them. The insights were buried in complex outputs, outdated tools, and cumbersome spreadsheets. To reach enterprise lenders, Karus needed an accessible platform that turned real-time AI underwriting into clear decisions, and a brand that signaled trust and innovation.
Karus is an AI-driven risk analytics startup for the consumer auto finance market, founded by Aaron Travis, James Harrison, and Paul Kostoff. Its models assess real-time credit risk, especially for subprime borrowers, using proprietary machine learning trained on tens of millions of loan outcomes.
The models were strong; the interface wasn’t. Lenders needed a cohesive, accessible way to interpret those AI outputs and make confident decisions. Karus partnered with OAK’S LAB to build the platform, and the brand, to make that possible.
The mandate was to build an intuitive web portal that visualizes real-time AI underwriting data, makes loan decisions transparent, and replaces the outdated tools and spreadsheets lenders were stuck with.
Just as important, the work had to elevate Karus’s brand to reflect trust, innovation, and efficiency, setting the stage for enterprise adoption.
We started by consulting directly with lenders and dealerships, prioritizing dashboard functionality over legacy tool migration so users got consolidated views of loans, payments, and metrics. We crafted a clean, modern brand and interface, then rolled the platform out iteratively from fall 2022.
A clean, modern identity and UI built around Karus’s values of trust, transparency, and innovation, setting the stage for enterprise adoption.
A database layer that continuously ingests third-party data (applications, payments, applicant statistics) to keep the dashboards fresh and accurate.
A feature that replaced two stand-alone tools dealerships relied on nationwide. In its first month, one beta dealership created 1,100+ applications, booking 100 loans worth $1.7M.
Enterprise AI underwriting deployed. Real-time risk analytics now support auto lending at scale, with $5B+ in loans processed through the decisioning engine.
More approvals, more revenue. Lenders are approving more subprime loans once deemed too risky, turning AI insights into measurable returns.
Trained on real outcomes. The engine draws on 20M+ historical loan outcomes across a network of 20,000+ lenders and dealerships.
Built to scale. Launched in fall 2022 and expanding commercially, on the back of $4.7M raised in venture capital.
“They truly dug in to understand our business and revenue model, which helped us find product-market fit and close enterprise customers. Everything we built together was designed to drive revenue.”
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