Source: TechCrunch
Summary
Salmon, a fintech startup, has raised $6 million to expand its AI-powered lending platform in the Philippines. The platform targets underbanked Filipinos with little to no credit history, as well as those dissatisfied with existing lenders’ reliability issues. Salmon uses AI to assess creditworthiness and provide loans. The funding will be used to grow the team and improve the platform.
Our Reading
The launch follows a familiar script.
Salmon is bringing AI-powered lending to the Philippines, because that’s exactly what the country needed – another lending platform. The startup is targeting the underbanked and those unhappy with existing lenders, which is just a nice way of saying they’re going after people who can’t get loans elsewhere. Salmon’s AI will magically assess creditworthiness, because that’s not something that’s been tried before. And with $6 million in funding, they’ll surely disrupt the entire financial system. Or not. Salmon is just the latest in a long line of fintech startups that promise to revolutionize lending, but will probably just end up being another me-too platform.
Author: Evan Null
