- Fuse raises a $25 million Series A led by Footwork, Primary Venture Partners, NextView Ventures, and Commerce Ventures.
- Co-founders Andres Klaric and Marc Escapa, both Harvard Business School alumni, pivoted from an automotive lending startup to build an AI-native loan origination system.
- The company has allocated $5 million for a “rescue fund” offering 50 credit unions free access until their legacy contracts expire.
- Fuse already serves over 100 customers and competes with publicly traded nCino and private-equity-owned MeridianLink.
$25 Million to Rebuild the Backbone of Credit Union Lending
Fuse has closed a $25 million Series A to take on the loan origination system — the central piece of software that manages every loan from application to disbursement. The round was led by Footwork, with Primary Venture Partners, NextView Ventures, and Commerce Ventures joining. The company, founded by Andres Klaric and Marc Escapa, already counts more than 100 financial institutions as customers.
The problem Fuse targets is straightforward: traditional loan origination systems can take a year to integrate and lock institutions into multi-year, expensive contracts. By building an AI-native platform from scratch, Fuse claims its agents can help lenders process higher volumes, automate underwriting, and cut operational costs significantly. “Credit unions and smaller financial institutions have everything required to win. They have the local presence, the local focus, great member experience,” Klaric told TechCrunch. “The only thing they don’t really have is the right technology.”
A $5 Million Rescue Fund to Poach Legacy Customers
The boldest move in Fuse’s playbook is a $5 million “rescue fund” offering 50 qualifying credit unions free access to the platform until their current contracts with legacy vendors expire. Klaric insists it is not a marketing gimmick — legacy software costs are high enough that many credit unions simply cannot afford to break existing contracts, even when they want to switch.
Nikhil Basu Trivedi, co-founder and general partner at Footwork, compared the loan origination system to an ERP or CRM in terms of operational importance. “We know the credit unions are really hurting and want to adopt AI but have no idea how to do it,” he said. With over 4,000 credit unions in the United States running on aging infrastructure, the market is large — and the incumbents are entrenched. Fuse is going head-to-head with publicly traded nCino and private-equity-owned MeridianLink, alongside AI-native rivals like Casca, which raised $29 million in its own Series A last year.
