Yendo has secured a USD 200 million funding commitment from i80 Group to scale its AI-powered, asset-backed credit card products across the US.
Following this announcement, US-based fintech Yendo has announced a USD 200 million warehouse facility from i80 Group, earmarked for new credit card originations as the company looks to expand its asset-backed lending products to consumers across the country.
The commitment follows Yendo's USD 50 million Series B and is intended to accelerate the growth of the company's full credit card range, including its flagship vehicle-secured card.
AI infrastructure at the core
According to the official press release, Yendo's model is built around proprietary, patent-pending AI infrastructure that automates the verification, evaluation, and securing of consumer assets — primarily vehicles, but also homes. Where traditional lenders have historically relied on manual processes that can take weeks to complete, Yendo's platform aims to complete the same steps in minutes, significantly reducing origination costs.
Traditional lenders originate over USD 70 billion in asset-backed consumer loans annually, the majority using legacy operational models. Yendo positions its technology as a direct alternative, focusing on the process of enabling the company to offer credit limits that are higher than those available through standard unsecured credit card products, alongside improved rates.
The efficiency gains from the automated origination process are passed through to the consumer in the form of lower rates and fees.
Market context and strategic significance
The vehicle-secured credit card sits within the broader asset-backed consumer lending market, a segment that has traditionally been slow to adopt technology-driven origination. By automating lien placement and asset verification, Yendo seeks to reduce the cost of security interests to a fraction of what legacy lenders incur — enabling the company to serve credit-eligible consumers who may have been priced out of conventional products.
The timing of the i80 Group commitment carries weight given the current environment. Private credit activity has remained subdued through 2024 and into 2025, making new warehouse facility agreements less common. The transaction signals continued institutional appetite for credit models that combine asset security with technology-driven underwriting, even as broader private debt markets remain under pressure.
A company official from i80 Group noted the asset-backed structure as a key factor in the decision, alongside what was described as demonstrated credit discipline and a clear focus on an underserved market segment.
Yendo's approach reflects a wider trend in fintech towards using automation to enter secured lending categories previously dominated by banks and traditional consumer finance companies — segments where pricing has often not reflected borrowers' actual risk profiles.
