Fuse Raises $25M in Series A Funding to Expand AI-Native Lending Infrastructure

Every so often a startup walks into a category that has been comfortable for way too long and politely turns the lights on. Not to make a scene. Just to remind everyone that the room has not been renovated since dial up internet was considered fast. That is the energy behind Fuse, the fintech infrastructure company founded by Andres Klaric and Marc Escapa. This week the company secured $25M in Series A funding, led by Footwork with participation from Primary Venture Partners, NextView Ventures, and Commerce Ventures. The capital is fuel, but the real story sits deeper inside the plumbing of financial institutions that still run on software old enough to remember fax machines.

Klaric and Escapa did not arrive here by accident. The pair previously spent about 3 years building an automotive lending startup, which gave them a front row seat to the operational maze lenders deal with every day. The deeper they went, the clearer the pattern became. Loan origination systems were supposed to be the engines of lending, yet many institutions were driving around with engines that sounded like lawnmowers taped to a Ferrari. Long integrations, rigid contracts, and systems that struggle to keep up with modern expectations. Klaric and Escapa looked at that reality and decided the industry deserved infrastructure that actually behaves like modern software.

Fuse steps directly into that gap with an AI native loan origination and account opening platform built for banks, credit unions, and finance companies. The platform covers the entire lending lifecycle from application to underwriting to funding, while layering in automation that is designed to do the repetitive work that slows teams down. AI agents handle document reading, fraud verification, and borrower communication. A no code decision engine lets institutions automate policies without engineering gymnastics. And an integrations marketplace with more than 200 integrations keeps the system connected to the tools lenders already depend on.

The traction is already showing up on the scoreboard. Fuse reports that 100+ financial institutions now run on the platform. The company states that customers have seen loan conversion increase 2.4x, variable operational costs drop by 68%, and automation levels reach 71% within a year. Those numbers tell a simple story. When the infrastructure finally gets out of the way, lenders can focus on the thing they are actually in business to do. Move capital efficiently and serve borrowers faster.

The Series A also comes with a strategic move that says a lot about the market timing. Fuse is allocating $5M toward a rescue fund designed to help as many as 50 credit unions escape legacy loan origination contracts. Anyone who has ever watched a financial institution try to migrate core systems understands why this matters. Contracts linger. Switching costs pile up. Innovation stalls. Klaric and Escapa are essentially walking into that gridlock with a crowbar and a checkbook.

Investors clearly see the opening. Footwork, Primary Venture Partners, NextView Ventures, and Commerce Ventures are betting that the next generation of lending infrastructure will look nothing like the last one. And with more than 4,000 credit unions across the United States still operating on aging systems, the runway is not just long. It is practically an interstate.

Fintech has always loved the flashy consumer apps, but the real power often hides underneath the hood. Fuse is building the engine room. Andres Klaric and Marc Escapa are not chasing noise. They are rebuilding the machinery that actually moves money, one automated workflow at a time. And if the early momentum is any indication, a lot of lenders have been waiting for someone to finally show up with a better set of tools.