Karus
San Francisco, California
FinTech
Seed
AI-powered products that provide end-to-end lending workflows in the auto finance industry.
Services utilized
Scope of work
01. Overview
Karus needed a modern, interactive platform to transform its AI-powered underwriting models into clear, actionable insights for lenders. OAK’S LAB delivered a brand, UI/UX, real-time data sync, and “Real Time Underwriting” feature, leading to $1.7M in loans booked in the first month.
02. About client
Karus is an AI-driven risk analytics startup targeting the consumer auto finance market. Founded by Aaron Travis, James Harrison, and Paul Kostoff, its flagship platform enables lenders to make data-driven decisions, particularly for subprime borrowers, by assessing real-time credit risk using proprietary machine learning models trained on tens of millions of loan outcomes.
03. Challenge
Lenders needed a cohesive, accessible way to interpret complex AI outputs, replacing outdated tools and cumbersome spreadsheets.
Karus approached OAK’S LAB to build an intuitive web portal capable of visualizing real‑time AI underwriting data, enabling loan decision transparency, and elevating their brand to reflect trust, innovation, and efficiency.
04. Solution
Branding & UI/UX Alignment
We crafted a clean, modern identity and interface that matches Karus’ values of trust, transparency, and innovation, setting the stage for enterprise adoption.
User research & workflow design
By consulting directly with lenders and dealerships, we prioritized dashboard functionality over legacy tool migration, ensuring consolidated views of loans, payments, and metrics.
Real-time data sync
Architected a database layer that ingests third-party data continuously, including applications, payments, and applicant statistics, keeping the UI data fresh and accurate.
Iterative rollout & functionality expansion
Deployed the initial platform in fall 2022, then added “Real Time Underwriting (RTU)”, a feature that replaced two stand‑alone tools commonly used by dealerships across the country.
Beta-user validation
Immediately after RTU launch, one dealership beta partner created over 1,100 applications in one month, resulting in 100 loans totaling $1.7M.
“OAK’S LAB helped us find our product-market fit and get to a point where we could close 10 enterprise customers. They were great at digging deep and understanding our business from a revenue model perspective.”
Aaron Travis
CEO, Karus
05. Outcome
Enterprise-grade AI underwriting deployed
Karus’ platform now supports real-time risk analytics for tens of thousands of auto loans, enabling lenders to assess subprime applicants with confidence across 73,000 unique users and over $30 M originated.
High-volume, data-driven decision-making unlocked
With $2 T underwritten at point-of-sale and $1 T post-origination, lenders now operate with full visibility into payments and borrower behavior, streamlining decisions without manual effort.
Increased revenue through better risk models
Lenders are approving more subprime loans previously deemed too risky, translating AI insights into measurable financial returns.
Fresh branding and intuitive UX introduced
A modernized interface and real-time dashboards replaced outdated tools, ensuring user-friendly interaction with complex algorithms and fostering broader adoption.
Scalable system built for future growth
The platform launched in fall 2022 and continues to expand commercially, positioning Karus to build on its $4.7M seed funding and lead the auto finance tech ecosystem.
We successfully elevated Karus from a technical proof of concept to a full-fledged AI analytics SaaS solution, empowering lenders with speed, precision, and clarity previously unavailable in the auto finance space.
Ready to transform technical innovation into enterprise-grade software?
Let’s explore how OAK’S LAB can build intelligent, brand-aligned platforms that deliver real-world results.
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