Finn.ai

About Finn.ai

Finn AI, established in 2014, specializes in providing AI-powered virtual assistants specifically for banks and credit unions. The company was founded in Vancouver, Canada, by the team of Jake Tyler (CEO), Natalie Cartwright (COO), and Guru Atlu (CTO). The founders' journey began when Cartwright and Tyler, classmates at IE Business School, were inspired by a money-transfer app in Kenya. Their initial venture, a money transfer app called Payso, faced challenges in the concentrated Canadian banking market, which led them to pivot to their current model. Guru Atlu, with a background in electronics, communications engineering, and experience as a mobile app developer at IBM, joined as CTO to build the technology.

The company's core business revolves around a conversational AI platform designed to enhance the digital customer experience for financial institutions. Finn AI's business model is centered on offering this white-labeled virtual assistant to financial institutions, which then deploy it on their public websites, online banking platforms, and mobile apps. The technology utilizes natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning, trained specifically on banking-related language and queries, to handle customer interactions. This allows customers of their client banks to perform tasks like checking account balances, transferring money, paying bills, and receiving personalized financial insights through a chat interface. The platform is capable of handling over five hundred common banking queries and tasks. Key clients have included financial institutions such as BMO, ATB Financial, United Federal Credit Union, and EQ Bank.

Finn AI demonstrated consistent growth, raising approximately $17.5 million in total funding through several rounds, including a significant $14 million Series A in 2018. A pivotal moment in the company's history occurred in June 2022 when it was acquired by Glia, a digital customer service platform. This acquisition was a strategic move to integrate Finn AI's specialized banking chatbots into Glia's broader platform, aiming to mainstream virtual assistants in the financial services sector. Following the acquisition, the Finn AI leadership team assumed leadership roles within Glia, and their Vancouver office was designated as a "Conversational AI Center of Excellence" to continue developing AI solutions.