Lendai

What Lendai does

Lendai is a US-headquartered fintech direct lender that originates mortgages for foreign nationals purchasing US residential investment properties. The company was founded in 2019 in Miami and operates as a balance-sheet lender rather than a broker, targeting individual non-US investors who face structural barriers to obtaining US mortgages because they lack US credit history and US income documentation. Its core product suite comprises five loan programs: long-term New Purchase and Cash-Out Refinance loans on 30-year fixed-rate terms (up to 75% LTV and $4M), and short-term Fix and Flip (up to 85% LTC / 70% ARV), Bridge (up to $5M, 12-24 months), and New Construction (up to $5M) loans. These are complemented by three add-on service modules — landlord insurance through Steadily, US Entity Formation Services, and banking access through Mercury — creating an integrated stack for cross-border investors.

The company's underlying technology is its proprietary AI-based Triple Digital Underwriting System, which processes international borrower financials, alternative credit data, and property-level metrics to underwrite loans that traditional US banks decline. The platform supports a fully online application-to-closing workflow that the company reports can complete in approximately 14 days. Lendai is licensed under NMLS ID 2461335 across more than 40 US states and maintains operational offices in Miami, Toronto, London, Chennai, and Tel Aviv/Rishon LeZion, with website localization in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Lendai makes money primarily through origination fees of approximately 2% on each loan, interest income on mortgages held on its balance sheet as a direct lender, and processing and closing-related fees. Distribution combines a self-serve online platform with a referral channel of 200+ real estate brokers and professionals, particularly in Canada, Israel, the UK, and Australia. As of mid-2024 the company had raised approximately $37M in cumulative funding, including a $35M equity and debt seed round in March 2022 led by Meron Capital and Cardumen Capital.

Name

Lendai

Legal name

Lendai US Inc.

Website

https://lendai.us

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lendai is a Miami-based fintech direct lender that originates US residential mortgages for foreign individual investors using a proprietary AI underwriting system. It operates across 40+ US states and five countries with a five-product loan suite plus insurance, entity-formation, and banking add-ons.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mortgage Lending

NAICS

Credit Intermediation and Related Activities (522)

SIC

Mortgage Bankers & Loan Correspondents (6162), Personal Credit Institutions (6141)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Credit / Direct Lending (FSAAAHAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Balance-Sheet / Portfolio CRE Lending (FSALADAG)

Keywords

• Foreign national mortgages
• US real estate lending
• Mortgage underwriting platform
• Cross-border property financing
• Non-US citizen loans

Headquarters

HQ city

Miami

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Origination Fees: Lendai charges origination fees for processing mortgage applications, typically around 2% of the loan amount. As a direct lender, the company funds loans directly rather than acting as a broker.
2. Interest Income: Revenue generated from interest on the mortgages that Lendai originates and holds on its balance sheet as a direct lender.
3. Processing Fees: Additional fees charged for loan processing, including various closing costs and fee structures as disclosed on their pricing page.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Lendai is a fintech direct lender providing US real estate mortgage financing to foreign national investors. It funds and originates long-term and short-term loan products (new purchase, cash-out refinance, fix and flip, bridge, new construction) on its own balance sheet, underwritten through an AI-based Triple Digital Underwriting System designed for borrowers without US credit history or US income documentation.

Product overview

Lendai is a fintech lender offering a unified platform for foreign investors to finance US real estate properties. The core product suite comprises five loan programs: New Purchase Loans and Cash-Out Refinance Loans (long-term 30-year fixed rate mortgages up to 75% LTV), and Fix and Flip Loans, Bridge Loans, and New Construction Loans (short-term financing for renovation, interim funding, and ground-up construction). These are complemented by three add-on services: Insurance Services through a Steadily partnership, US Entity Formation Services for entity setup, and Banking Services via a Mercury partnership. The entire offering is powered by the company's AI-based Triple Digital Underwriting System that enables fully online loan processing from application to closing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• New Purchase Loan

Quantifiable outcome

• ~14 day closing timeline vs. traditional lender timelines of 30-60 days

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• MercurycoreTechnology or IntegrationMercury serves as Lendai's banking partner, providing banking infrastructure and services to support the company's direct lending operations and fund management.
• SteadilyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSteadily provides insurance products as a partner, offering coverage options for property owners who obtain financing through Lendai's platform.
• Home365minorGTM or Marketing PartnerHome365 partnership announced to provide expanded offerings for international investors, potentially integrating financing and property services.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Griffin Funding: Specializes in mortgage lending for foreign nationals and non-US citizens purchasing US real estate, with portfolio, jumbo, and DSCR programs. Closest direct competitor to Lendai's foreign-investor mortgage niche, serving a similar customer base with comparable loan products.
• Deephaven Mortgage: Private non-QM lender serving borrowers who do not fit agency guidelines, including self-employed, foreign national, and investor segments. Operates as a direct lender with proprietary underwriting, overlapping with Lendai's non-agency, alternative-borrower model.

Broad incumbents

• Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions: Established non-QM and jumbo lender offering foreign national, DSCR, and bank statement programs. A larger incumbent that overlaps with Lendai's foreign-investor focus as part of a broader non-agency product suite rather than a foreign-national-only specialization.
• Verus Mortgage Capital: Non-QM and investor loan program manager and capital provider with foreign national and DSCR products. A broader non-QM incumbent whose product set overlaps with Lendai's investor-property and foreign-borrower offerings.
• Carrington Mortgage Services: Large non-QM and government loan lender with foreign national and investor programs. Operates as a broad incumbent across multiple specialty mortgage segments rather than focusing exclusively on foreign-national borrowers.
• NewRez (formerly Caliber Home Loans): Top-15 US mortgage originator with significant non-QM and specialty investor programs including foreign national offerings. A broad incumbent whose non-QM book competes for similar non-agency borrower segments.
• Better.com: Digital-first mortgage lender using proprietary technology to streamline origination. Comparable to Lendai in its tech-led, direct-to-consumer underwriting approach, though focused on the broader US mortgage market rather than foreign nationals specifically.
• Rocket Mortgage: Largest US mortgage originator with a fully digital platform and growing specialty / non-QM offerings. Sets the benchmark for digital mortgage UX that Lendai's platform competes against for tech-forward borrowers.

Emerging players

• LoanSnap: AI-driven mortgage lender using machine learning to recommend loan structures. Comparable emerging fintech using AI in underwriting, though focused on US borrowers rather than foreign nationals.

Others

• PeerStreet: Real estate investment platform connecting investors with private real estate loans. Adjacent ecosystem participant serving real estate investors with private financing options, partially overlapping with Lendai's investor-property borrower base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lend-ai

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors11 records

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Lendai