Pastel
Pastel is an Agentic AI platform serving regulated banks and credit unions with specialized AI agents for onboarding, customer due diligence, fraud, AML, screening, and executive intelligence workflows, distributed via enterprise subscriptions.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- HeadquartersYaba, Nigeria
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Pastel does
Pastel operates an Agentic AI platform called Sigma that deploys specialized AI agents across regulated banking workflows, including customer onboarding and due diligence, fraud detection, anti-money laundering operations, sanctions and adverse media screening, and executive-level strategic intelligence. Each agent is designed to be tuned to a bank's policies, integrate with the institution's existing systems without a rip-and-replace migration, document every action for audit and regulatory exam purposes, and operate under human-in-the-loop controls. The company targets community banks, mid-tier and super-regional banks, credit unions, and internal teams in risk, compliance, operations, and the executive suite, with case-study customers including Credit Direct Finance Limited, Oxygen X Finance Company Limited, Zest Payments Limited, and Transactworld Digital Services. Pastel distributes the platform via direct enterprise sales through 'Book a Demo' and 'Talk to our Team' engagements, suggesting consultative, quote-based contracts on a subscription basis, though specific pricing tiers are not publicly disclosed.
The company was originally founded around 2021 as a Nigerian digital bookkeeping startup serving small businesses, raised a $620,000 pre-seed in August 2021 and a $5.5 million seed round in August 2022 led by TLcom Capital Partners (with DFS Lab, Everywhere Ventures, Global Founders Capital, Golden Palm Investments, Plug and Play, Soma Capital, and Ulu Ventures participating), and subsequently pivoted to its current banking AI focus by 2024-2025. Corporate registration is now reflected at a New York address (169 Madison Ave STE 15313) with North America as a served market, while team size remains in the 11-50 range. There is no public evidence of a Series A, additional funding rounds, acquisitions, regulatory certifications, named senior AI hires, or proprietary model development beyond the Sigma product itself.
Pastel firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Pastel
- Legal name
- Pastel
- Website
- https://pastel.africa
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Pastel is an Agentic AI platform serving regulated banks and credit unions with specialized AI agents for onboarding, customer due diligence, fraud, AML, screening, and executive intelligence workflows, distributed via enterprise subscriptions.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Pastel industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Banking AI Software
- NAICS
- Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Bot Management & Credential Stuffing Protection (FSAMALAG)
Keywords
Where Pastel is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Yaba
- HQ country
- Nigeria
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices1 record
Markets served
Pastel business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- AI Agent Platform Subscription: Pastel offers its AI agent platform to regulated banks on a subscription basis. The platform deploys specialized agents across customer due diligence, fraud, AML, screening, and executive insight workflows. Value delivery is measured through hours saved and workflow automation rather than just improved analytics.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Pastel product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Pastel sells Sigma, an agentic AI platform for regulated banks that deploys specialized AI agents across core banking workflows including customer onboarding, customer due diligence (CDD), fraud detection, anti-money laundering (AML), sanctions/PEP screening, and executive strategic intelligence. The platform integrates with existing core banking systems to automate compliance and operations tasks that were previously handled manually, and it is targeted at community banks, mid-tier banks, super-regional banks, and credit unions.
Product overview
Pastel is a banking AI platform built around its core product Sigma, which deploys specialized agentic AI across four key modules: Onboarding & CDD Agents, Fraud & AML Agents, and Strategic Intelligence Agents. The platform is designed for regulated banks (community banks, mid-tier, super-regional, credit unions) and serves risk, compliance, operations, and executive teams. Pastel integrates with existing banking systems to modernize high-stakes workflows without requiring a rip-and-replace of core infrastructure.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Sigma Sigma is an agentic AI platform for regulated banks that deploys specialized AI agents across onboarding, customer due diligence (CDD), fraud detection, anti-money laundering (AML), sanctions/PEP screening, and strategic executive intelligence. It integrates with existing core banking systems to automate compliance and operations workflows for community banks, mid-tier banks, super-regional banks, and credit unions.
Quantifiable outcome
- Multi-day onboarding projects reduced through automated workflows
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Pastel
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Pastel technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability6 records
Feature4 records
Pastel partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators1 record
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Pastel competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Alloy: Identity decisioning platform (KYC/AML/ fraud) for banks and fintechs. Comparable to Pastel's Onboarding & CDD Agents in automating customer due diligence.
- ComplyAdvantage: AI-driven AML, KYC and sanctions screening platform serving banks and financial institutions. Directly overlaps with Pastel's Screening Agents and Fraud/AML Agents on regulatory compliance workflows.
- Silent Eight: AI-based AML and sanctions screening solution used by global banks. Competes head-on with Pastel's agentic approach to compliance alert handling and case management.
- Featurespace: Behavioral analytics for fraud and AML, deployed at major banks. Competes with Pastel's Fraud & AML Agents in anomaly detection and false-positive reduction.
- Unit21: AI-powered fraud, AML, and compliance operations platform. Highly comparable to Pastel as a workflow-and-agents layer for compliance teams at banks and fintechs.
- ThetaRay: AI-driven AML and transaction monitoring for cross-border payments and correspondent banking. Overlaps with Pastel's transaction monitoring and screening agents.
- Persona: Identity verification and KYC/CDD platform used by financial institutions and fintechs. Directly comparable to Pastel's Onboarding & CDD Agents.
- Quantexa: Entity resolution and decision intelligence platform for AML, KYC and fraud. Highly comparable AI platform serving risk and compliance teams at banks.
Broad incumbents
- NICE Actimize: Incumbent enterprise financial crime, AML, and fraud platform sold to global tier-1 banks. Represents the legacy vendor estate Pastel is positioning to displace or augment.
Emerging players
- Hummingbird RegTech: AI-powered regulatory intelligence and compliance management platform for banks and fintechs. Overlaps with Pastel's regulatory workflow and screening agents.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Pastel social profiles
Digital presencePastel financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Pastel leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Pastel funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors8 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Pastel M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Pastel
What does Pastel do?
Pastel sells Sigma, an agentic AI platform for regulated banks that deploys specialized AI agents across core banking workflows including customer onboarding, customer due diligence (CDD), fraud detection, anti-money laundering (AML), sanctions/PEP screening, and executive strategic intelligence. The platform integrates with existing core banking systems to automate compliance and operations tasks that were previously handled manually, and it is targeted at community banks, mid-tier banks, super-regional banks, and credit unions.
Is Pastel a public or private company?
Pastel is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Pastel founded?
Pastel was founded in 2022. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Pastel based?
Pastel is headquartered in Yaba, Nigeria, in the Africa region.
How does Pastel make money?
One revenue line is on record: AI Agent Platform Subscription.
Who are Pastel's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Alloy, ComplyAdvantage, Silent Eight, Featurespace, Unit21, ThetaRay, Persona and Quantexa. NICE Actimize is listed as a broad incumbent. Hummingbird RegTech is listed as an emerging player.
Does Pastel have an API?
No public API is recorded for Pastel.
What industry is Pastel in?
Pastel's product category is Banking AI Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAMALAG, Bot Management & Credential Stuffing Protection. Its NAICS code is 522320 and its SIC code is 7372.