HONESTAI, a leading Korean AI transformation (AX) startup in the financial sector, has secured $10 million USD (14.4 billion KRW) in funding. AAK(Asia Advisers Korea) led the investment round, with existing shareholder ATON, a fintech security company, participating in the follow-on investment.

Founded in 2014, AAK is a global family office investment firm that has successfully executed over 160 investments based on its expertise in real estate and corporate innovation. Investors were particularly impressed by HONESTAI’s Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) AI platform’s scalability and proven profitability backed by real data. The successful closure of this $10 million deal during a challenging investment climate demonstrates strong market confidence in the company.

HONESTAI achieved record growth this year despite harsh market conditions marked by stringent lending regulations. The company’s flagship service, HONESTFUND—an AI-powered lending platform for financial institutions—saw December’s new origination volume surge 4.2 times compared to the launch month, showing a steep upward trajectory. Cumulative connected loan amounts surpassed 1.465 trillion KRW, establishing an unparalleled “economy of scale” within the fintech industry.

The company didn’t just grow in size. Through its proprietary AI risk management solution, HONESTAI achieved both quantitative growth and qualitative soundness simultaneously. Despite rapidly increasing origination volumes, the company maintained industry-lowest delinquency rates, successfully accomplishing the seemingly contradictory goals of “hypergrowth” and “ultra-soundness” through technological prowess.

Beyond business achievements, HONESTAI reached its technological peak this year. The company won the Grand Prize (Financial Services Commission Chairman’s Award) at the “Maeil Business Newspaper Fintech Awards 2025,” officially recognizing its industry-leading technology. Selected as the lead institution for a next-generation AI national project hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT, HONESTAI is accelerating research into “causal relationship-based AGI” core technology, solidifying its future growth engines.

With this substantial capital, HONESTAI plans to accelerate AI technology advancement and expand AI solutions for financial institutions next year.

“HONESTAI has perfected a unique AI platform that revolutionizes financial institutions’ risk management and operational efficiency through sophisticated AI technology,” said Hyo-lip Song, CEO of AAK. “We highly value the management team’s execution capability in proving explosive growth and soundness simultaneously despite an uncertain market environment. We are confident they will become a ‘game changer’ leading the financial AX market going forward.”

“This $10 million investment demonstrates the market’s trust in both the ‘growth velocity’ and ‘technological substance’ that HONESTAI has proven,” said Sang-hoon Seo, CEO of HONESTAI. “With the secured funds, we will further widen the gap in our AI financial platform and innovate the financial market through AI technology.”