Kita, a San Francisco-based startup that uses AI to help lenders review borrower documents for credit underwriting, has raised US$4.5 million in seed funding led by BoxGroup.

The company said it will use the money to expand its engineering team and improve its underwriting and fraud-detection tools as demand grows in Southeast Asia, Latin America, the US, and Africa.

Other backers include Y Combinator, US News Digital Ventures, Kaya Founders, Golden Gate Ventures, BEENEXT, Genting Ventures, Apex Star Capital, and angel investor Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng.

The company was co-founded by Carmel Limcaoco and Rhea Malhotra and is part of Y Combinator’s Winter 2026 batch.

Kita said its software reads bank statements, e-wallet records, payslips, and invoices.

It is used by lenders in the Philippines, Indonesia, Mexico, and the US, and the company said it processed more than US$130 million in loan volume over the past five months.

Kita also said it works with banks and leaves final credit decisions to human teams.

As Kita expands in the US, lenders using AI in underwriting still must provide specific reasons when they deny credit or take other adverse actions.

The market already includes document analysis and underwriting automation providers such as Ocrolus and Taktile.

🔗 Source: Kita