Zest AI delivers record first half, fueled by 77% growth as lenders scale AI. Mike de Vere Zest AI, a leading provider of AI lending technology, today announced record first-half performance as banks, credit unions, and specialty lenders accelerate adoption of artificial intelligence. The company completed its strongest six-month period in its history, driven by success in winning new customers, continued expansion within its existing customer base, and growing demand for AI-powered underwriting, fraud detection, and generative AI solutions. "The momentum we're seeing reflects a broader shift in how financial institutions are approaching AI," said Mike de Vere, CEO of Zest AI. "Lenders are making larger investments, deploying AI more quickly, and expanding its use across the lending lifecycle-from underwriting and fraud prevention to lending intelligence. AI is becoming the core infrastructure for modern lending, helping financial institutions make smarter decisions and better serve their communities." H1 2026 Highlights: * Commercial momentum: Zest AI achieved 77% growth in bookings during the first half of 2026, driven by strong new customer wins and increased sales of additional solutions to its existing customer base. * Growing customer investment: Average new business deal sizes reached their highest level in several years, reflecting broader enterprise adoption and larger-scale AI deployments. * Strong platform expansion: Existing customers continued to deepen their use of the Zest AI platform, with multi-product adoption reaching record levels. Zest AI began the year with a strong first quarter, tripling adoption of its GenAI and fraud solutions. The second quarter brought several additional milestones that reinforced the company's leadership in AI-powered lending. Zions Bank and Hawaii Federal Credit Union selected Zest AI to strengthen their lending decisions. Launcher Solutions partnered with the company to integrate AI-powered underwriting insights into its loan origination platform. Zest AI also expanded its investment in industry education by launching three flagship events - the IQ Lending Forum Executive Conference and two regional AI Summits - designed to bring practical AI education and peer learning directly to credit unions nationwide. The quarter concluded with three industry honors: CNBC named Zest AI to its World's Top Fintech Companies list for the second consecutive year, American Banker highlighted Zest AI on its Best Fintechs to Work For List and Zest AI was selected as a finalist in the generative AI category of the Finovate Awards. "As AI becomes foundational to modern lending, our responsibility extends beyond building great products," said de Vere. "We're helping financial institutions understand how to deploy AI responsibly, scale it across their organizations, and create lasting value for their teams and the communities they serve. That's why we're investing not only in technology, but also in education and collaboration across the industry."

LAUNCHER.SOLUTIONS and Zest AI announce integration partnership to expand ai-powered lending capabilities. As fraud schemes become more sophisticated and lenders face increasing pressure to make faster, more confident lending decisions, access to reliable automation has never been more important." - Nikh Nath, President, LAUNCHER.SOLUTIONS JACKSONVILLE, FL, UNITED STATES, July 28, 2026 / EINPresswire.com / - LAUNCHER.SOLUTIONS ("Launcher"), a leading provider of loan origination technology for automotive lenders, banks, credit unions, and specialty finance companies, today announced an integration partnership with Zest AI, a leading provider of AI-powered technology that helps financial institutions enhance credit risk evaluation through advanced machine learning. This partnership enables lenders using Launcher's appTRAKER(TM) Loan Origination System to incorporate and automate decisioning based on Zest's AI's credit and fraud risk models into their existing underwriting workflow. The collaboration reflects a shared commitment to helping lenders modernize their lending operations through intelligent automation, improved decision support, and enhanced risk management. Together, Launcher and Zest AI will provide financial institutions with streamlined access to AI-driven credit and fraud risk insights within existing lending workflows. "As fraud schemes become more sophisticated and lenders face increasing pressure to make faster, more confident lending decisions, access to reliable automation has never been more important," said Nikh Nath, President of LAUNCHER.SOLUTIONS. "Through our partnership with Zest AI, we continue to expand the intelligence capabilities available within the appTRAKER(TM) platform, enabling lenders to strengthen credit risk evaluation, improve operational efficiency, and better defend against evolving fraud while preserving their existing workflows." "AI is becoming foundational to the future of lending, but adoption only accelerates when it integrates seamlessly into existing operations," said Jose Valentine, Head of Partnerships at Zest AI. "This integration gives lenders a practical path to modernize credit decisioning with transparent, proven AI that fits naturally into the systems they use every day." Lenders can leverage the combined strengths of appTRAKER(TM) and Zest AI to accelerate loan decisioning, increase automation, and enhance risk evaluation through advanced AI-driven insights. Launcher believes the future of lending depends on the responsible application of artificial intelligence, giving financial institutions the flexibility to adopt best-in-class AI technologies while maintaining transparency, regulatory compliance, and human oversight. By continuing to expand its ecosystem of trusted technology partners, Launcher empowers lenders to select the solutions that best align with their underwriting strategies, fraud prevention initiatives, compliance requirements, and operational objectives. About LAUNCHER.SOLUTIONS LAUNCHER.SOLUTIONS is a technology products and services company built on the foundation of care, understanding, innovation, and speed. It specializes in loan originations for consumer and automotive lending institutions, regional banks, and credit unions. Its product offerings include appTRAKER(TM) LOS for indirect automotive and consumer direct lending and leasing, myDEALER.CARE dealer relationship management system, and my.LOAN, a customer digital acquisition, account opening, self-service and communication platform. Learn more at https://www.launcher.solutions or call 877.5LNCHER. Follow LAUNCHER.SOLUTIONS on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/launcher.solutions. About Zest AI Founded in 2009, Zest AI is a leader in financial technology with a mission to modernize lending and strengthen the financial system. The company is working to transform the $17 trillion US consumer credit market by delivering AI technology that helps lenders identify creditworthy borrowers overlooked by legacy credit methods, while leveling the playing field for financial institutions of all sizes to harness AI. With over 1,500 active AI models and 50+ issued and pending patents, Zest AI is providing financial institutions with a comprehensive suite of solutions spanning underwriting, fraud detection, lending intelligence, and more to make smarter lending decisions that power growth and profitability. Learn more at Zest AI and connect on LinkedIn. Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.