Global fintech CrediLinq Raises $8.5M Series A to Accelerate the Growth of B2B Embedded Finance

Rhea-AI Summary

CrediLinq, an AI-powered embedded finance platform, has secured $8.5 million in Series A funding led by OM/VC and MS&AD Ventures, with participation from new investors Citi North America and Rustem Family office. The company specializes in enabling B2B platforms to offer financing solutions to SMEs through API integration and AI-powered technology. The funds will be used to: expand into the US, UK, and Australia; strengthen presence in Singapore; hire senior talent in sales, marketing, product, and tech; and enhance their technology infrastructure. CrediLinq's platform integrates with major marketplaces like Amazon, Lazada, and TikTok Shop, leveraging real-time alternative data to provide seamless credit solutions at the point of need.

Positive

• Secured $8.5M Series A funding from prominent investors including Citi North America
• Geographic expansion into major markets (US, UK, Australia)
• Strategic partnerships with major e-commerce platforms (Amazon, Lazada, TikTok Shop)
• AI-powered technology reduces non-performing loans and improves collections efficiency
• Strong investor confidence demonstrated by returning investors (500 Global, Epic Angels, etc.)

Negative

• None.

Insights

Venture Capital & Fintech Expert

CrediLinq secured $8.5M Series A funding to expand AI-powered embedded finance for SMEs globally, strengthening their B2B platform integration capabilities.

The $8.5 million Series A round for CrediLinq represents a significant milestone in the embedded finance sector. This funding, led by OM/VC and MS&AD Ventures with participation from Citi North America and returning investors, validates the company's AI-driven approach to democratizing SME financing through digital platforms.

The capital infusion targets three strategic priorities: geographic expansion into the US, UK, and Australia; talent acquisition across commercial, product, and technical departments; and enhancement of their AI-powered credit algorithms and technology infrastructure.

CrediLinq's credit-as-a-service model tackles a persistent market inefficiency - the difficulty digital-first SMEs face in accessing growth capital. By integrating directly with platforms through APIs and leveraging real-time alternative data from those platforms, they've built a differentiated approach to credit decisioning that moves beyond traditional underwriting methods.

The participation of Citi North America is particularly noteworthy, suggesting institutional validation of their approach. This strategic investment could potentially open doors to enterprise-level platform partnerships through Citi's extensive financial services network.

Their integration with major e-commerce players like Amazon, Lazada, and TikTok Shop demonstrates product-market fit and establishes distribution channels with massive built-in SME populations. This embedded approach creates a flywheel effect - platforms benefit from increased retention and transaction volume while CrediLinq gains proprietary data advantages for credit decisioning.

The focus on improving NPL (non-performing loan) management and collections through AI suggests a mature understanding of credit risk management, which will be crucial as they scale into new markets. The emphasis on agentic workflows points to operational automation that should improve unit economics as they grow.

• The round was led by OM/VC (formerly Vectr Fintech) and MS&AD Ventures. New investors include Citi North America and Rustem Family office. Returning investors include 500 Global, Epic Angels, 1982 VC, and Big Sky Capital.
  
  
• CrediLinq operates in the embedded finance sector, enabling B2B platforms to offer financing solutions. Its AI-powered technology infrastructure integrates into online platforms through APIs and leverages the platform's real time alternative data to provide credit seamlessly to SMEs at the point of need.
  
  
• Funds will be deployed to drive market expansion, strategic acquisitions and partnerships in the US, UK and Australia; boost local presence in Singapore; hire senior commercial, product and tech talent and invest in further technology enhancements.

SINGAPORE, May 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- CrediLinq, the AI-powered embedded finance platform that is revolutionizing access to growth capital for underserved digital-first SMEs globally, announced today the close of its USD $8.5 million Series A funding round. The round was led by OM/VC and MS&AD Ventures. New investors include Citi North America and Rustem Family office.  Returning investors include 500 Global, Epic Angels, 1982 VC and Big Sky Capital.

CrediLinq will immediately accelerate geographic expansion, starting with the United States and subsequently into the United Kingdom and Australia.  The company will look to partner with larger digital platforms in these markets to drive user growth, enabling digitally native businesses transacting on platforms to access capital.

In addition, CrediLinq will strengthen its leadership bench in sales, marketing, product and tech to support expansion in the target markets.  A significant portion of the funds will also be invested in enhancing the company's technology stack — with continual improvement of AI-led credit algorithms that use the SME's real-time digital footprint including platform data, unstructured data, bureau information and the like, to reduce non-performing loans (NPLs), improve 'Default On' collections, and build agentic workflows to drive efficiency.

Deep Singh, Founder and Group CEO of CrediLinq, remarked: "Today marks a pivotal moment for CrediLinq as we accelerate the growth of embedded finance globally, helping platforms empower digital native SMEs with flexible, transparent and more seamless access to capital. With this new funding, we are excited to deepen our partnerships, expand into new markets, and invest in senior talent and technology infrastructure that will support the next phase of our growth." 

Vikram Kotibhaskar, Co-Founder of CrediLinq. added: "The embedded credit revolution continues to gain momentum, and CrediLinq is at the forefront of this innovation.  By being integrated within platforms, our Credit-as-a-Service stack leverages API connectivity, transactional data and credit algorithms for quick decision-making at the point of need and offers easy checkout within the partner ecosystem.  This results in a fast, frictionless and transparent customer experience and more ways for platforms to monetize their business.  Our agentic workflows also drive efficiency and continuous monitoring to keep loan losses low.  Platform partners benefit with higher stickiness, trust, and scalability that drives up GMV."

CrediLinq's solutions can be embedded across platforms that cover verticals of procurement, supply chain, e-commerce marketplaces, freelance platforms, banking, accounting, and payments.   In the e-commerce space for example, CrediLinq has integrations with key marketplaces such as Amazon, Lazada and TikTok Shop.

Mark Munoz, Managing Partner at OM/VC commented: "As a long-term investor in Credilinq, we're proud to support their growth into a global leader in credit-as-a-service. Their innovative use of technologies like AI to drive positive revenue outcomes for clients is aligned with our investment philosophy. It's also encouraging to see that many of its users have reported consistent, immediate ROI from their crediting platforms, underscoring the value that Credilinq is delivering at scale."

Lee Smallwood, Global Head of Markets Innovation & Investments at Citi, said: "CrediLinq's innovative approach to embedded finance leverages AI to provide seamless credit solutions for digital-first SMEs, which complements our goal to transform financial services.  Their platform's ability to integrate into diverse digital ecosystems positions them to make a significant impact globally."

Jon Soberg, Managing Partner at MS&AD Ventures, mentioned: "CrediLinq's AI-driven platform offers a scalable solution to B2B platforms that want to embed lending as a complementary, value-add offering. Their focus on embedding credit within digital workflows is exactly what today's rapidly evolving digital economy demands."

Vishal Harnal, Managing Partner at 500 Global, reflected: "We first backed CrediLinq in 2022 and are doubling down as they scale their AI-powered platform globally. Deep and his team bring exceptional domain expertise and execution, having already built a trusted, scalable model for embedded finance that allows them to expand beyond Southeast Asia."

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For more information about CrediLinq's embedded finance platform and Series A milestones, please visit www.credilinq.ai.

About CrediLinq

CrediLinq is a technology infrastructure company with a proprietary Credit-as-a-Service stack. Their API-centric approach enables B2B platforms and banks to build financial products for merchants, enabling the financial empowerment of underserved digital native SMEs to build, grow and scale their business.

What sets CrediLinq apart is embedding lending solutions within these platforms and harnessing the platform's real-time alternative data, to offer business owners swift access to funding through AI-driven credit decisioning and agentic workflows. This empowers SMEs to manage cash flow by accessing seamless, flexible and transparent lending options.

The company holds a Capital Markets Services License under the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), enabling it to raise and deploy institutional capital to support SME growth. CrediLinq is ISO 27001 certified for information security management and is a member of the Singapore Fintech Association.

About Citi

Citigroup (NYSE: C), a leading global bank, invests in and partners with innovative startups that are transforming financial services and other industries. Focus areas include fintech, data analytics, and enterprise solutions. For more information, visit https://www.citi.com.

About OM/VC

OMVC is an early-stage venture capital firm targeting investment opportunities in fintech, deep tech, climate tech and where they intersect. With presence in San Francisco, Honolulu, New York and Singapore, it deploys private capital across Seed to Series A companies and provides visionary founders with operating expertise, capital formation advisory and access to talent. Founded by a former entrepreneur and a regulatory innovator, OMVC aims to create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities it operates in through integrating human-centric and tech-forward approaches.

For more information, please visit: omvc.co.

About MS&AD Ventures

MS&AD Ventures is the corporate venture capital arm of MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, one of the world's largest insurance groups. MS&AD Ventures invests in early-stage startups advancing innovation across insurtech, fintech, and ESG sectors. For more information, visit https://msad.vc/.

About 500 Global

500 Global is a venture capital firm with US$2.2 billion in assets under management (as of 31 December 2024) investing in globally ambitious founders building fast-growing technology companies. The company focuses on the U.S. and global markets where innovation, capital, and ecosystems can propel startups and unlock long-term value. For more details, visit https://500.co/. 

Multimedia Links

• CrediLinq Company Overview
• CrediLinq LinkedIn Page
• [Founder Profiles: Deep Singh | Vikram Kotibhaskar]

 

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SOURCE CrediLinq

FAQ

What is the size of CrediLinq's Series A funding round and who led it?

CrediLinq raised $8.5 million in Series A funding, led by OM/VC and MS&AD Ventures, with participation from new investors Citi North America and Rustem Family office.

How will CrediLinq use its Series A funding?

The funds will be used for market expansion into the US, UK, and Australia; strengthening Singapore presence; hiring senior talent in sales, marketing, product, and tech; and enhancing their technology infrastructure.

Which major e-commerce platforms does CrediLinq integrate with?

CrediLinq integrates with major e-commerce platforms including Amazon, Lazada, and TikTok Shop.

How does CrediLinq's AI-powered technology work?

CrediLinq's AI technology uses SMEs' real-time digital footprint, including platform data, unstructured data, and bureau information, to make credit decisions, reduce non-performing loans, and improve collections efficiency.

Who are CrediLinq's returning investors in this funding round?

Returning investors include 500 Global, Epic Angels, 1982 VC, and Big Sky Capital.