A milestone in our journey to revolutionise credit reporting.
We're thrilled to announce a major milestone in Infact's journey: we've successfully raised £4 million in seed funding and secured FCA authorisation as a Credit Reference Agency. This achievement marks a significant step forward in our mission to establish the UK's first real-time credit bureau.
Our team has worked tirelessly to reach this point, and we couldn't be prouder of what we've accomplished. This funding and regulatory approval validate our vision and hard work, setting the stage for Infact to drive meaningful change in the credit information landscape.
The £4 million investment, led by AlbionVC with participation from 13books Capital, Outward VC, Form Ventures, and Portfolio Ventures, along with support from prominent angels in the credit referencing, lending, and fintech sectors, is a testament to the potential of our innovative approach. This capital will fuel our growth, allowing us to expand our team, accelerate the development of our rich bureau database, and extend our product suite to support the entire credit lifecycle.
At Infact, we've always believed that the credit reporting system was due for a major overhaul. Legacy bureaus have struggled to keep pace with the rapid evolution of consumer credit preferences, particularly as individuals gravitate towards lower value, high-velocity, transactional products. We saw an opportunity to build something better - a platform that accurately represents modern credit products and consumers in a way existing bureaus simply can't.
Our API-first approach enables lenders to report and receive consumer credit risk insights in real-time, empowering credit risk teams to improve lending performance and increase profitable lending. More importantly, it allows consumers to build and rehabilitate their credit profiles faster and more safely, promoting financial inclusion and visibility.
We're especially proud of the team we've assembled to tackle this challenge. Led by our co-founders Will Mason and Andy Milligan, who bring valuable experience from their time at Runpath (acquired by Experian), our founding team boasts diverse credit experience from industry leaders like NatWest, TSB, Castlight, Experian, Credit Kudos, Metro Bank, Ratesetter, Laybuy, and Visa.
Since receiving our FCA authorisation, we've hit the ground running. We've seen encouraging early success, with several leading UK lenders engaging to help populate our bureau. We've also successfully launched our first product, Affordability Engine, which has been well-received by the market.
As we enter this next phase of growth, we're more excited than ever about the potential to make a real difference in the credit information market. We're committed to supporting today's lenders by treating their consumers as people with rich and varied financial lives, and we can't wait to see the positive impact our work will have on both lenders and consumers alike.
We'd like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our investors, partners, and early adopters who have believed in our vision. Your support has been invaluable, and we're looking forward to continuing this journey together.