About Cushion AI
Cushion AI is a Financial Services company based in San Francisco (United States) founded in 2016 by Paul Kesserwani, and was acquired by Lending Club in April 2025. Bill payment and credit builder solutions for consumers. Cushion AI has raised $22.52 million across 6 funding rounds from investors including LendingClub, Rose Park Advisors and Vestigo Ventures. Its chief executive, as recorded, is Paul Kesserwani. Its focus areas include FinTech, Banking Tech, Loan Life Cycle Management and Credit Assessment. Its legal entity is CUSHION AI, INC. Its competitors include Boom Pay, Esusu and PerPay; 2 of its 3 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
Founded in 2016 and headquartered in San Francisco, United States, Cushion AI operates in the consumer finance sector. Solutions for bill payments and credit building are provided to users, allowing credit scores to be improved via routine bill settlements. Bills, subscriptions, and buy-now-pay-later obligations are managed within a single dashboard, where tracking, payments, and credit history development are supported.
- Headquarters San Francisco, United States
- Founders Paul Kesserwani
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsFinancial Services
- Email••••••••
- Phone•••• ••••
- Website cushion.ai
- Social LinkedIn X Facebook
- Acquired by Lending Club (Apr 2025)
- Legal Name Cushion Ai, Inc.
- Total Equity Funding$22.52M (USD)
in 6 rounds
- Latest Funding Round$17.4M (USD), Series A
May 2022
- InvestorsLendingClub
& 8 more
- Acquired byLending Club
(Apr 2025)
Funding Insights of Cushion AI
Cushion AI has successfully raised a total of $22.52M across 6 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series A round of $17.4 million completed in May 2022. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $22.52M
- Total Rounds 6
- Last Round Series A — $17.4M
- First Round $150,000
(Oct 2017)
- Investors Count 8
All 6 funding rounds of Cushion AI with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2022 | $17.4M | Series A | – | Rose Park Advisors | |
| May 2020 | $2M | Seed | – | – | – |
| Feb 2019 | $2.8M | Seed | – | Vestigo Ventures, Green Cow Venture Capital | |
| May 2018 | $125,000 | Seed | – | – | – |
| Nov 2017 | $50,000 | Seed | – | – | – |
| Oct 2017 | $150,000 | Seed | – | – | – |
9 investors in total: 9 institutional.
Investors in Cushion AI
Cushion AI has secured backing from 9 investors, including venture fund and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include LendingClub, Rose Park Advisors and Vestigo Ventures.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Venture capital investments are guided by disruptive innovation theories. | roseparkadvisors.com | Boston, United States | ||
Vestigo Ventures is focused on investing in AI and FinTech startups. | vestigoventures.com | Kendall Square, United States | ||
Flourish Ventures is focused on investing in mission-driven fintech entrepreneurs. | flourishventures.com | Redwood City, United States | ||
Early-stage investments are focused on US startups by TSEF. | tsef.com | Brooklyn, United States | ||
Seed-stage funding is offered to deep tech startups. | greencow.vc | |||
Corporate-backed venture capital firm focused on fintech, Insurtech, and multiple sectors | cmfgventures.com | Madison, United States | ||
Seed-stage tech investments in US companies are funded. | afore.vc | San Francisco, United States | ||
Venture capital investments are directed toward multiple sectors by 9Yards. | 9yards.vc | Los Angeles, United States | ||
Consumer and business loans are matched via a P2P marketplace. | 2006 | lendingclub.com | San Francisco, United States |
Investor details for Cushion AI
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
- Investor portfolios
- Co-investor network
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
People of Cushion AI
3 people are tracked at Cushion AI (1 in leadership, 2 in team).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Paul Kesserwani | Founder & CEO | Leadership |
Emily Onimus | Customer Experience Manager | Team |
Shariq Rizvi | Board Member | Team |
Complete people profiles for Cushion AI
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
- Full employee list
- Team structure
- Board tenure
- Professional contacts
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of Cushion AI
4 dated milestones of Cushion AI across 9 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Cushion AI is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $150K.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series A, of $17.4M.
- Exit Acquired by Lending Club.
Competitors of Cushion AI
Cushion AI has 3 listed competitors in our database, 2 of them funded. They include Boom Pay, Esusu and PerPay.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| boompay.app | 2020 | New York, United States | $4.5M | Online platform for rental payments and credit building | ||
| esusurent.com | 2018 | New York, United States | $200M | Online platform offering credit-building solutions through rent payment reporting | ||
| perpay.com | 2014 | Philadelphia, United States | 89 | POS financing and credit-building solutions are provided to consumers. |
Detailed competitors of Cushion AI
The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.
- Full competitor set
- Operating metrics
- Benchmarks
- Competitive positioning
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Top companies in Banking & FinTech Platforms
3 companies that operate in the same segment as Cushion AI (Banking & FinTech Platforms) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Online business banking and financial workflow tools are provided. | 2010 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 546 M | USD 2.71 M | 1,807 | |
Digital banking services are offered to individuals via mobile apps. | 2012 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 3.15 B | USD 1.96 B | 2,516 | |
Digital sustainable banking services are offered to consumers. | 2013 | Los Angeles, California, United States | USD 865 M | 237 |
Unlock complete access to The Company Check
Get unrestricted viewing across everything we track — from companies and brands to investors, funding rounds, acquisitions, financials, and more.
- Unlimited viewing on all profiles Companies, investors, financials, funding, acquisitions & directors
- Full access to every database India & global coverage, advanced filters and rich profile details
- Always-on access from your team account Single premium plan for everything you see on the portal
Related news about Cushion Ai
Complete news archive for Cushion AI
Full article history, source details, and older brand coverage require an active premium plan.
- Full article archive
- Source and publication date
- Older coverage
- Brand-specific news history
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Frequently Asked Questions about Cushion AI
Cushion AI was founded in 2016 and raised its 1st funding round 1 year after it was founded.
Cushion AI is headquartered in San Francisco, United States. It is registered at San Francisco, California, United States.
Paul Kesserwani is the CEO of Cushion AI, as recorded in our data. They have also founded this company.
Cushion AI is a funded company, having raised a total of $22.52M across 6 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Seed of $150K, raised on Oct 2017.
Founded in 2016 and headquartered in San Francisco, United States, Cushion AI operates in the consumer finance sector. Solutions for bill payments and credit building are provided to users, allowing credit scores to be improved via routine bill settlements. Bills, subscriptions, and buy-now-pay-later obligations are managed within a single dashboard, where tracking, payments, and credit history development are supported.
Cushion AI has 9 investors. Key investors include LendingClub, Rose Park Advisors, Vestigo Ventures, Flourish Ventures, and TSEF.
Cushion AI operates through Cushion Ai, Inc..
Yes. Cushion AI was acquired by Lending Club in April 2025.