When was Zest AI founded?

Zest AI was founded in 2009 and raised its 1st funding round 2 years after it was founded.

Where is Zest AI located?

Zest AI is headquartered in Burbank, United States. It is registered at 3900 W ALAMEDA AVE STE 1600,BURBANK,CA,91505,0.

How many employees does Zest AI have?

As of Aug 31, 2026, the latest employee count at Zest AI is 234.

Is Zest AI a funded company?

Zest AI is a funded company, having raised a total of $319M across 13 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a $***** Series A round, raised on Jul 21, 2011.

How much is Zest AI worth?

The latest valuation of Zest AI is $***** as of Nov 01, 2022.

When was the latest funding round of Zest AI?

Zest AI's latest funding was a $***** Series D round on Nov 04, 2025, with participation from 3 investors.

Where does Zest AI rank among its competitors?

Zest AI ranks 2nd amongst 309 active competitors, of which 79 are funded. It stands 1st in terms of total funding among its competitors. The most recent competitor to raise funding was Taktile, which secured $110M in May, 2026.

Who are the top competitors of Zest AI?

Zest AI's top competitors include Nova Credit, Juvo and Taktile. Among them, Taktile secured the most recent funding round in May, 2026.

Zest AI - 2026 Company Profile, Team, Funding & Competitors

Zest AI is a series D company based in Burbank (United States), founded in 2009 by Shawn Budde and Douglas Merrill. It operates as a Provider of AI-enabled credit risk assessment platform. Zest AI has raised $319M in funding from investors like Insight Partners, Baidu and Citi, with a current valuation of $*****. The company has 309 active competitors, including 79 funded and 30 that have exited. Its top competitors include companies like Nova Credit, Juvo and Taktile.

Company Details

Provider of AI-enabled credit risk assessment platform. It provides users with a loan life cycle management suite for banks and financial institutions. Its services include data processing, automated documentation and compliance validation, deployment and integration, and more. It identifies borrowers' and lenders' credit risk through assessments and automated decisions.

Website: zest.ai
Social
Email ID: *****@zest.ai
Registered Address: 3900 W ALAMEDA AVE STE 1600,BURBANK,CA,91505,0

Key Metrics

Founded Year

2009

Location

Burbank, United States

Stage

Series D

Total Funding

$319M in 13 rounds

Latest Funding Round

Series D, Nov 04, 2025, $*****

Post Money Valuation

$***** as on Nov 01, 2022

Investors

Insight Partners & 31 more

Ranked

2^nd among 309 active competitors

Employee Count

234 as on Aug 31, 2026

Similar Companies

Cleo & 2130 more

View Zest AI's full profile

Zest AI is associated with 2 legal entities given below:

Legal Entity Name	Date of Incorporation	Revenue	Latest Employee Count	Documents
Zestfinance, Inc. CIN: 20131021453 , United States, Deadpooled	Jan 10, 2013	-	-	-
Zestfinance, Inc. CIN: 32052701508 , United States, Active		-	113 (As on Dec 31, 2023)	-

Zest AI has raised a total funding of $319M over 13 rounds. Its first funding round was on Jul 21, 2011. Its latest funding round was a Series D round on Nov 04, 2025 for $*****. 3 investors participated in its latest round. Zest AI has 32 institutional investors.

Here is the list of recent funding rounds of Zest AI:

Filter this list

Date of Funding	Funding Amount	Round Name	Post-Money Valuation	Revenue Multiple	Lead Investors	Other Investors
Nov 04, 2025	3250862	Series D	4283204	1068147	2510614	4615827
Dec 13, 2024	1748762	Series D	9597477	6846346	1943853	6745789
May 08, 2024	2124938	Series D	8848596	2768662	4909038	6026767

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View details of Zest AI's funding rounds and investors

The founders of Zest AI are Shawn Budde and Douglas Merrill.

Here are the details of Zest AI's key team members:

Shawn Budde: Former Co-Founder of Zest AI and founder of 1 other company.
Contact Info: 1 email address
Douglas Merrill: Former Co-Founder of Zest AI and founder of 1 other company.

View details of Zest AI's Founder profiles and Board Members

Zest AI's employee count trend

Zest AI has 234 employees as of Aug 26. Here is Zest AI's employee count trend over the years:

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Top competitors of Zest AI include Nova Credit, Juvo and Taktile. Here is the list of Top 10 competitors of Zest AI, ranked by Tracxn score:

Rank	Company Details	Short Description	Total Funding	Investors	Tracxn Score
1st	Nova Credit 2016, San Francisco (United States), Series D	Provider of unified consumer credit data infrastructure and analytics platform	$156M	Kleiner Perkins, Financial Solutions Lab ... & 36 others	71/100
2nd	Zest AI 2009, Burbank (United States), Series D	Provider of AI-enabled credit risk assessment platform	$319M	Northgate Capital, Saints Capital & 30 others	66/100
3rd	Juvo 2014, San Francisco (United States), Series B	Alternative credit soring solutions based on mobile data transactions	$59.3M	Wing Venture Capital, New Enterprise Associates ... & 15 others	66/100
4th	Taktile 2020, Berlin (Germany), Series C	Developer of software for automated financial decisioning and case management	$189M	Index Ventures, Goldman Sachs & 20 others	66/100
5th	Scienaptic 2014, New York City (United States), Series A	Provider of an AI-powered credit decisioning platform for financial institutions	$9.9M	TVS Motor, 4Front Credit Union & 7 others	66/100
6th	Demyst 2010, New York City (United States), Acquired	Provider of a platform for external data management and access	$64.5M	MissionOG, Accion & 13 others	65/100
7th	CRS 2016, Huntington Beach (United States), Seed	Credit reporting API solutions for lenders	$1M	IA Capital Group, Fresh Ventures & 4 others	59/100
8th	Savvymoneycom 2009, Dublin (United States), Series F	Financial wellness platform empowering institutions to drive growth and strengthen relationships	$272M	Spectrum Equity, Canapi Ventures & 6 others	59/100
9th	Applied Data Finance 2014, New York City (United States), Series C	Fair and responsible consumer lending solutions using data science and technology	$202M	MAI Capital Management, Colchis Capital Management ... & 4 others	58/100
10th	Cerved 1974, Milano (Italy), Public	Credit rating agency	-	FSI, Clessidra Private Equity & 1 others	56/100