It occurred in the future.
Jannae Gammage was working with the Small Enterprise Administration as a know-how guide, serving to firms get entry to capital by way of conventional lenders, like banks and credit score unions. She couldn’t cease pondering, nevertheless, that there was an issue: The methods during which lenders and companies related had been woefully outdated, particularly on the technological entrance.
“I used to be contained in the mess, watching good companies die, whereas attempting to navigate legacy workflows,” she advised TechCrunch. “My literal job was to search out know-how to resolve this, and it didn’t exist. I couldn’t discover something.”
So she known as up an outdated good friend, Alaia Martin, and the 2 set to work. In 2022, the duo began engaged on Cyphr, a Kansas Metropolis-based firm centered on making the lending course of simpler for lenders and small companies. Cyphr is a High 20 finalist in Startup Battlefield, a part of TechCrunch Disrupt 2025.
The product analyzes various knowledge sources and monetary patterns of small companies to assist lenders make choices about small enterprise creditworthiness. Cyphr went by way of a couple of iterations since its launch, however the latest developments in synthetic intelligence paved the way in which for what the product is at present. It formally launched in the market in April 2024.
“After we began out, the issue we had been attempting to resolve was, ‘How can we make underwriting smarter, sooner, in order that these entrepreneurs get entry to capital?’” Gammage, CEO, mentioned. “We wished a world the place cash moved freely prefer it did in different verticals. We got here in with a borrower-centric expertise, whereas numerous firms had been centered on ‘how can we make this work for lenders.’”
They began constructing an LLM, utilizing coaching knowledge based mostly on neglected enterprise homeowners and their firm’s financials, to assist lenders make choices about which firms to associate with.
Techcrunch occasion
San Francisco
|
October 27-29, 2025
“We had been doing it manually,” Martin, the corporate’s COO, mentioned about constructing LLMs earlier than AI’s newest improve. “Although we’re AI native firm, we began doing this with out actually any assist.”
Their present mannequin is on prime of an OpenAI mannequin, which they’ve fine-tuned for themselves.
The newest updates in AI, nevertheless, did extra than increase their product — it additionally made lenders extra prepared to work with them, Gammage mentioned. The monetary business was already shifting due to COVID, realizing they wanted to digitize and modernize in some methods. “Now you add on this AI, the place they’re utilizing it each day, it feels snug,” she mentioned.
“If we had [gone to market] in 2022, it positively would have been lots tougher to get buy-in, simply due to the worry round know-how and AI and the established order,” Gammage mentioned.
The corporate has raised one million {dollars} thus far. Gammage mentioned the method was straightforward and laborious on the similar time.
“The issues I assumed could be laborious weren’t laborious. The issues I assumed could be fairly easy had been under no circumstances,” she mentioned. One sore level was how capital flowed: They might watch friends elevate hundreds of thousands without delay, whereas for them, the cash got here in tranches as they partook in accelerators and numerous pitch competitions.
“It’s very laborious to have catalytic moments whenever you’re receiving your money injections that manner,” she mentioned.
Martin, in the meantime, was fearful about what it could be like fundraising in San Francisco as two Black ladies with non-technical backgrounds from the Midwest. “We aren’t what you consider whenever you consider a tech founder,” she mentioned. However she mentioned they didn’t have a lot of an issue. “We had been rather well acquired in Silicon Valley.”
“I’m so grateful we had been capable of elevate as a result of I do know it’s lower than 1% of us that may say that,” Gammage added.
The corporate has huge plans: It’s at present constructing a platform to assist firms discover alternatives when the World Cup involves city subsequent yr. Gammage and Martin have additionally thought of new areas for the corporate, although nothing is about in stone.
“We’re enthusiastic about the way forward for the corporate,” Gammage mentioned, including that successful Disrupt’s Battlefield will hopefully assist accomplish these objectives. “Even momentum requires cash.”
If you wish to study extra about Cyphr from the corporate itself — whereas additionally testing dozens of others, listening to their pitches, and listening to visitor audio system on 4 completely different levels — be a part of us at Disrupt, October 27 to 29 in San Francisco. Be taught extra right here.
{content material}
Supply: {feed_title}