Upstart is an AI-powered lending marketplace that connects borrowers with banks, credit unions, and institutional investors. Upstart does not primarily lend its own money — it acts as a technology intermediary, using proprietary AI models to underwrite loans and routing them to a network of capital partners. The core product is unsecured personal loans ($200–$75,000), typically used for debt consolidation. Upstart also offers auto loans ($3,000–$60,000), HELOCs ($26,000–$250,000), and small-dollar loans (~$1,000). Upstart earns fees from lending partners and investors for each loan facilitated — platform fees per origination, referral fees, and recurring servicing fees — which together represent the vast majority of revenue. Upstart's core competitive claim is superior AI-based underwriting: its personal loan model uses over 2,500 variables and was trained on nearly 104 million repayment events, enabling better risk separation than traditional FICO-based models. Borrowers apply at Upstart.com or through partner channels; 91% of personal loans required no human intervention in FY25. Upstart funds loans through lending partners, committed institutional capital (over 50% of platform funding), and at-will capital markets. Upstart's growth strategy centers on model improvement, product expansion into auto and home lending (which management views as a much larger addressable market than personal loans), and building a stable, diversified capital base to sustain origination volume through credit cycles.