Curql

What Curql does

Curql Collective is a Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO) and collective investment vehicle headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, founded in 2020 to enable credit unions to jointly invest in and access fintech. Curql operates two fund vehicles — Curql Fund I ($252M, closed 2021) and Curql Fund II ($360M, closed August 2025) — bringing total assets under management to over $600 million. The organization is governed by a Board of Managers and Investment Committee composed of credit union executives from institutions including Idaho Central, Suncoast, Schools First, BankFund, Everwise, Space Coast, Circuit, MSUFCU, Navy Federal, and VyStar, with day-to-day management led by Managing Partner Craig Ibsen and President & CEO Nick Evens. Curql currently has 160+ credit union limited partners and a portfolio of 50+ fintech companies, with reference points indicating that 30%+ of the U.S. credit union market uses at least one Curql-backed fintech solution.

Curql's core offering consists of three tightly linked products: (1) Curql Fund I and Curql Fund II, which deploy committed credit union LP capital into vetted fintech startups, often leading or co-leading rounds at seed through Series C stages (recent check sizes ranging from $4.5M in Trust & Will to a $25M lead in Uptiq); (2) Curql Accelerate, a 12-week fintech accelerator operated in partnership with gener8tor, where each cohort of approximately five early-stage fintech founders is placed on-site at credit unions for pilots, mentorship, and non-dilutive grants — alumni have subsequently raised $74.1M post-program across four cohorts to date; and (3) a portfolio distribution channel that gives portfolio companies immediate, warm access to 160+ credit union buyers. Recent active investments span AI agents (Uptiq), AI compliance (Castellum.AI), digital fraud defense (Allure Security, Charm Security), embedded BNPL (Equipifi), renovation lending (RenoFi), payments modernization (Alacriti), earned wage access (Reset), digital estate planning (Trust & Will), deposit networks (ModernFi), and stablecoin core infrastructure (Stablecore, via partnership with Circuit CUSO). Underlying technology is curated rather than built: Curql itself is a fund manager, and the technology stack is delivered through the 50+ portfolio companies rather than proprietary R&D.

Revenue is generated through fund management fees on committed AUM across both vehicles, supplemented by accelerator program economics and, in successful years, carried interest on portfolio exits. Pricing and fee economics are not publicly disclosed. The GTM motion is sales-led and relationship-driven: Curql recruits credit union CEOs and CFOs directly as LPs through industry channels including its annual VentureTech conference, the Curql Accelerator's on-site credit union engagement, and warm referrals through the 160+ LP network. The value proposition to credit unions is preferred pricing on portfolio fintech (estimated at approximately $12M in cumulative negotiated discounts), early access to innovations, governance representation through the Investment Committee, and the ability for mid-sized and smaller credit unions to access technologies that would otherwise be out of reach individually. The CUSO structure under US credit union regulation is itself a differentiator, providing governance rights and distribution access that external venture investors cannot replicate in the credit union segment.

Name

Curql

Legal name

Curql Collective, LLC

Website

https://curql.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Curql Collective is a Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO) that operates a collective investment vehicle for 160+ U.S. credit unions, managing over $600 million across two fund vehicles, a 50+ fintech portfolio, and a 12-week accelerator program in partnership with gener8tor.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Credit Union Fintech Investment Services

NAICS

Other Activities Related to Credit Intermediation (522390)

SIC

Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159)

akta.pro primary industry

Joint Venture CVC / Consortium Funds (Multi-corporate) (FSANAHAE)

Keywords

• Fintech investment collective
• Credit union CUSO
• Venture fund management
• Fintech accelerator program
• Collective investment vehicle

Headquarters

HQ city

Des Moines

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel

Revenue model

1. Fund Management Fees: Curql generates revenue through management of investment funds (Curql Fund I at $252M and Curql Fund II at $360M) contributed by credit union limited partners. The collective model provides negotiated discounts for credit unions estimated at $12 million in savings.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Curql Collective operates a fintech collective investment model in which credit unions jointly invest in vetted fintech companies through two fund vehicles—Curql Fund I ($252M) and Curql Fund II ($360M)—totaling over $600M in assets under management from 160+ credit union limited partners. The company also runs Curql Accelerate, a 12-week fintech accelerator program in partnership with gener8tor that places early-stage companies on-site at credit unions for pilots and feedback, providing preferred pricing, early access, and governance influence in exchange for LP capital.

Product overview

Curql Collective operates as a fintech investment ecosystem built by credit unions, for credit unions. The company functions as a collective investment vehicle with two venture funds (Curql Fund I at $252M and Curql Fund II at $360M) totaling over $600M in assets under management, complemented by Curql Accelerate—a 12-week accelerator program in partnership with gener8tor. The investment model enables 160+ credit unions to collectively invest in and gain access to a portfolio of 50+ fintech companies offering solutions across AI lending, fraud prevention, digital communications, payments, compliance, and digital banking infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Curql Fund I: First investment fund vehicle that closed at $252 million in 2021
• Curql Fund II
• Curql Accelerate

Products and services

• Curql Fund I The initial venture fund managed by Curql Collective, which raised $252 million from credit union investors and deployed across fintech companies serving the credit union industry. Available to credit unions that become limited partners.
• Curql Fund II The second and largest fintech fund in credit union history, closing at $360 million with participation from 160+ credit unions. Builds on Fund I success to invest in transformative fintech solutions for credit unions.
• Curql Accelerate A 12-week national fintech accelerator in partnership with gener8tor, designed to align early-stage innovation with real credit union needs. Five fintech companies per cohort receive mentorship, on-site credit union access, and non-dilutive grants. Alumni have raised $74.1M post-program and created 105 jobs.
• Fintech Portfolio A curated portfolio of 50+ fintech companies providing technology solutions for credit unions across lending, payments, fraud prevention, compliance, communications, and digital banking. Includes companies like Eltropy, Posh, Equipifi, Stablecore, Uptiq, Allure Security, and Zest AI.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $12 million in negotiated discounts for credit unions
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• gener8torcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 November 2023Curql Accelerate runs in partnership with gener8tor, a nationally ranked accelerator. Gener8tor provides program design, founder coaching, investor relations, and operates accelerators across 45 cities, 25 states and 3 countries. The program has worked with more than 1,500 startups that have raised more than $2B in financing.
• CircuitcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCircuit is a Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO) partnered with Curql and Stablecore for the early-access stablecoin and digital asset program for credit unions. Circuit helps credit unions manage approximately $25 billion in combined assets test blockchain-based financial services.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• CO-OP Financial Services: The largest credit union-owned CUSO, providing payments, lending, and digital services to thousands of credit unions. Most directly comparable to Curql as a CUSO that aggregates credit union demand for technology and infrastructure, though CO-OP is operationally a processor rather than an investment fund.
• Velera (formerly PSCU): Credit-union-owned CUSO providing card services, digital banking, and fraud solutions to credit unions. Directly comparable to Curql as a CUSO-aggregated technology platform serving the U.S. credit union ecosystem with a similar member-owned governance model.
• Nymbus: CUSO-aligned digital banking and core platform provider specifically built for credit unions and community banks. Directly comparable as a CUSO-structured fintech partner in Curql's portfolio that pursues the same credit-union distribution strategy.
• CULedger: A CUSO building blockchain-based digital identity and exchange networks for credit unions. Comparable to Curql's Stablecore digital asset initiative as a credit-union-led technology consortium, though much smaller in scale and focused on a narrower product.

Broad incumbents

• CUNA Mutual Group: The largest insurance and financial services provider owned by and serving the credit union industry. Comparable to Curql as a credit-union-aligned financial services entity, though it is a much larger, established incumbent focused on insurance and lending protection rather than fintech investment.
• Jack Henry & Associates: Major core technology provider for U.S. credit unions and community banks. Comparable to Curql as a scaled infrastructure provider to the credit union industry, though Jack Henry is a public, broad-based incumbent rather than a credit-union-owned investment collective.

Others

• Filene Research Institute: Credit-union-focused independent research and innovation incubator. Adjacent to Curql as a credit-union ecosystem institution driving fintech innovation, though it functions as a think tank and incubator rather than a fund manager.

Emerging players

• Bankers Helping Bankers Fund: A community-bank- and credit-union-aligned investment fund participating in fintech rounds (e.g., Reset, Equipifi alongside Curql). Comparable as a strategic capital vehicle for depository institutions investing in fintech, with similar LP composition and ticket sizes, though smaller and bank-led rather than credit-union-led.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/curql
• Xx.com/Curql1

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments60 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Curql