Embedded business finance platform Liberis has launched a proprietary AI underwriting agent built to boost accuracy and slash decision times. Called Ada after programming pioneer Ada Lovelace, the agent is designed to eliminate repetitive manual tasks and accelerate funding decisions for businesses. It ingests and analyses financial, compliance, and digital footprint data in real-time, automatically surfaces key risk factors, trends, and anomalies to support human underwriters. Ada automates data analysis across multiple sources including open banking data, Companies House records, credit bureau information, and digital footprint indicators. This, projects the firm, will deliver a 50% reduction in manual decision time for complex cases, while improving accuracy by correcting for human bias and blind spots. “Ada’s value goes far beyond just time savings. As humans, we all have biases and blind spots. Ada helps us uncover those. It flags what we might have missed and brings those risks to the surface, improves fairness, and helps us learn from past decisions,” says Rob Straathof, CEO, Liberis.
Retailer Kurt Geiger’s in-store solution offers store associates the ability to deliver seamless omnichannel services including endless aisle, ship-to-store, and buy online pickup in-store and buy online return in-store, using an iPhone or iPad
Kurt Geiger is now live on the NewStore Omnichannel unified commerce platform across more than 70 owned stores, outlets, and airport locations in the U.S. and U.K. The rollout spans the Kurt Geiger and Carvela brands brands, replacing three legacy in-store systems with an upgraded, mobile-based solution. Store associates now have the ability to complete transactions and deliver seamless omnichannel services including endless aisle, ship-to-store, and buy online pickup in-store and buy online return in-store, using an iPhone or iPad. Gareth Rees-John, chief digital officer at Kurt Geiger. “With NewStore, we’ve moved to a more agile, digitally native point-of-sale that allows us to innovate faster, empower our store teams, and stay ahead of the latest industry trends.” The implementation also supports Kurt Geiger’s growing footprint in the U.S. Kurt Geiger has now opened multiple brick-and-mortar locations, all of which have operated on the NewStore platform from the time they opened. “With multiple brands and store formats across two regions, Kurt Geiger’s rollout is a great example of how the NewStore platform makes it simple for retailers to scale their business globally while maintaining a consistent brand experience,” said Michael DeSimone, CEO at NewStore. “By consolidating systems and standardizing operations, they now have the agility to grow faster, adapt quicker, and serve customers more consistently no matter where they shop.” As part of the next launch phase, Kurt Geiger will extend the NewStore platform to its two concession stores within Harrods and Selfridges locations in London.
Fintech OneBanx’s APIs enable banks to integrate cash deposit and withdrawal capabilities into their mobile banking apps via OneBanx kiosks
UK-based fintech OneBanx is integrating cash deposit and withdrawal capabilities into partner banks’ mobile apps, aiming to bridge the gap between digital banking and physical cash access. The company is developing secure APIs to enable customers to initiate and complete cash deposits and withdrawals from OneBanx kiosks using their existing mobile banking apps. This integration complements existing digital payment solutions, providing a more comprehensive service offering. OneBanx’s joint white paper with Enryo highlights the importance of a long-term strategic approach for cash users. Benefits for Banks and Their Customers : Enhanced Customer Experience: Customers can enjoy a unified banking experience, managing their finances and accessing cash through a single, familiar platform. Increased Digital Engagement: Introducing cash access features within bank apps can serve as a gateway for customers who are less digitally active, encouraging gradual adoption of digital banking services. Cost-Effective Infrastructure: Banks can extend their service reach without the overhead of maintaining traditional branch networks, leveraging OneBanx’s kiosk infrastructure.
Phonely’s conversational AI agents reduce response times by more than 70% he awkward delays that immediately signal to callers they’re talking to a machine
A three-way partnership between AI phone support company Phonely, inference optimization platform Maitai, and chip maker Groq has achieved a breakthrough that addresses one of conversational AI’s most persistent problems: the awkward delays that immediately signal to callers they’re talking to a machine. The collaboration has enabled Phonely to reduce response times by more than 70% while simultaneously boosting accuracy from 81.5% to 99.2% across four model iterations, surpassing GPT-4o’s 94.7% benchmark by 4.5 percentage points. The improvements stem from Groq’s new capability to instantly switch between multiple specialized AI models without added latency, orchestrated through Maitai’s optimization platform. The system works by collecting performance data from every interaction, identifying weak points, and iteratively improving the models without customer intervention. “Since Maitai sits in the middle of the inference flow, we collect strong signals identifying where models underperform,” Matai founder Christian DalSanto explained. “These ‘soft spots’ are clustered, labeled, and incrementally fine-tuned to address specific weaknesses without causing regressions.” The performance gains translate directly to business outcomes. “One of our biggest customers saw a 32% increase in qualified leads as compared to a previous version using previous state-of-the-art models,” Will Bodewes, Phonely’s founder and CEO noted. For call centers and customer service operations, the implications could be transformative: one of Phonely’s customers is replacing 350 human agents this month alone.
Peloton launches P2P used equipment marketplace, allowing members to post listings for their used Peloton equipment and gear and set a price with help from a generative AI tool
Peloton launched its own marketplace for reselling used equipment and gear as the company looks to capitalize on the many bikes and treadmills collecting dust in people’s homes. The platform, dubbed Repowered, will allow members to post listings for their used Peloton equipment and gear and set a price with help from a generative AI tool. Sellers have the final say on how much to list the item for, but the AI tool will suggest a price based on information about the product, such as its age, Peloton said. It said sellers will get 70% of the sales price, while the rest will be shared between Peloton and its platform provider, Archive. Sellers will get a discount toward new equipment, while buyers will see the activation fee for a used product drop from $95 to $45. Buyers will be able to see the equipment’s history on the listing and have the option to get the item delivered for an extra fee, Peloton said. The resale market for used bikes and treadmills is booming. The company said it wants to streamline the sale process for members and offer a safe and comfortable way for prospective customers to buy equipment. It’s also an opportunity for Peloton to reach a wider array of new users as it plots a pathway back to growth.
AdLift ‘Tesseract offers real-time visibility into how brands are being discovered and represented within AI-powered responses
AdLift announced the launch of Tesseract, an innovative AI-driven platform. Tesseract is the first-ever tool designed to help brands, agencies, and marketers track and amplify their presence across the rapidly expanding landscape of LLM powered search platforms, such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity. AdLift Inc., now part of Liqvd Asia, has been at the forefront of innovation, bringing together top talent to deliver groundbreaking solutions. With Tesseract, their latest breakthrough, they’re taking AI-powered marketing to the next level. This breakthrough technology is built to give brands unprecedented real-time visibility into how they are being discovered and represented within AI-powered responses. It empowers marketers to not only monitor but also optimize their digital footprint where it counts—in the very engines powering the next generation of search. Tesseract goes beyond legacy SEO tools by decoding the complex ways LLMs display and prioritize brand content across diverse AI-driven channels. Whether its tracking brand mentions in ChatGPT conversations or analyzing visibility in Google’s AI Overviews, the platform delivers actionable insights that fuel smarter, AI-savvy marketing strategies. Prashant Puri, CEO & Co-Founder of AdLift, “The dominance of traditional search engines is being challenged by AI-native platforms that interpret and present information differently. Brands that don’t adapt risk becoming invisible in this new landscape. Tesseract is our answer to this challenge—a revolutionary tool that puts brands back in control of their digital destiny.”
New Automated Underwriting System (AUS) purpose-built for the Non-QM lending market shifts underwriting decisions to the start of the loan lifecycle by using verified borrower data and aligning directly with investor-specific guidelines
Prudent AI has launched the industry’s first Upfront Automated Underwriting System (AUS) purpose-built for the Non-QM lending market. The new system shifts underwriting decisions to the start of the loan lifecycle by using verified borrower data and aligning directly with investor-specific guidelines, enabling lenders and brokers to scale confidently with fewer exceptions and greater certainty. Prudent AI’s Upfront AUS introduces a fundamental shift: moving critical underwriting logic upstream, where it can deliver the highest impact — enabling faster, cleaner, and more compliant decisions before loans enter underwriting queues. Purpose-Built for Modern Lending Prudent AI’s Upfront AUS: Uses verified income, credit, and asset data at submission; Applies investor-specific guidelines; Assess eligibility and conditions to clear; Offers a dual-phase review: upfront qualification and downstream consistency; Is built from the ground up to support the complexity and flexibility of Non-QM lending. Real Impact for TPOs and Lenders include: TPOs benefit from faster submissions, fewer conditions, and clearer investor alignment; Lenders gain efficiency, reduce rework, and expand underwriting capacity without adding headcount; Operational teams get cleaner data pipelines and scalable exception management.
Keeta and SOLO launch blockchain-native credit bureau enabling modern credit rails for wallets, dApps, and embedded finance, while allowing for pseudonymous lending and borrowing based on trusted credentials
Keeta announced the first-ever blockchain-native credit bureau created in partnership with SOLO, a credit data infrastructure platform backed by over 100 banks. Keeta is enabling SOLO’s PASS, a digital certificate that consolidates fragmented financial credentials into a verified identity, for seamless lending, peer-to-peer credit, and on-chain financial reputation, all backed by 100% provable data and assets. Keeta is the only blockchain that can facilitate PASS for institutions and platforms to confidently underwrite loans with verified, user-permissioned data. The product also enables modern credit rails for wallets, dApps, and embedded finance, while allowing for pseudonymous lending and borrowing based on trusted credentials. Now, crypto & Web3 builders, global earners paid in stablecoins, DAOS, VCs, banks, and others have access to a robust on-chain credit system. As a bank-grade, verified financial identity layer, PASS includes KYC, KYB, income, crypto assets, and business credentials. It provides users instant, secure, and self-owned credentials, granting them access to the global economy. They control when, where, and how they share information. With PASS, banks can now serve their crypto-native customers with full visibility, spend controls, and risk alignment. The partnership will be rolled out in phases, with verified profiles launching in Summer 2025. Additional features will include a lending marketplace with verified reputations, stablecoin-based loan origination offering real-world APR relief to crypto-native borrowers, and bank integrations.
The new Walmart “Retail Rewired Report” reveals that the trust gap between AI-based recommendations and influencer endorsements is much smaller than may have been anticipated.
The new Walmart “Retail Rewired Report” reveals that the trust gap between AI-based recommendations and influencer endorsements is much smaller than may have been anticipated. More than one-in-four (27%) surveyed consumers prefer AI suggestions to those from social media influencers (24%), which Walmart says signals a turning point for AI. The preference for AI suggestions was most pronounced among the respondent subsets of earning $100,000 or more per year (40% AI/23% social media influencers), males (36% AI/23% social media influencers), Gen X (32% AI/20% social media influencers) and parents (39% AI/30% social media influencers). The survey also shows that respondents have a general desire for a fast shopping experience, with many seeing AI as a valuable tool for speeding things up. Seven-in-10 (69%) said speed of the entire shopping experience is a priority. This number climbed to 80% among parents. More than half (54%) of respondents agreed that using digital shopping agents or assistants saved time, while 25% disagreed. The top three respondent concerns regarding AI shopping agents were privacy and security when sharing preferences and data (37%), irrelevant product suggestions (33%), and getting pushed toward products and brands they do not have an interest in (29%). Based on survey results, Walmart issued the following three findings about consumer attitudes toward AI: Traditional search methods still reign supreme, Trust in AI varies by product category, AI can recommend — but not replace — human decision-making
Palantir and fintech Bolt partner for Checkout 2.0 that delivers personalized flows that evolve with the user—prioritizing preferred payment methods, remembering prior selections and surfacing relevant information at just the right time
Bolt and Palantir have partnered to usher in a new era of intelligent ecommerce checkout—one that’s personalized, dynamic and deeply informed by data. Checkout 2.0, a self-learning, self-improving checkout, replaces static, form-based flows with an adaptive, real-time system that responds to each shopper’s unique preferences, behaviors and context. Rather than displaying the same interface to every shopper, Checkout 2.0 delivers personalized flows that evolve with the user—prioritizing preferred payment methods, remembering prior selections and surfacing relevant information at just the right time. Bolt will leverage Palantir’s platform to help scale Checkout 2.0 across enterprise retailers and expand it within Bolt’s recently launched SuperApp—an all-in-one finance and crypto hub that delivers real-time shopper signals. As both platforms evolve, Checkout 2.0 will bring deeper personalization and intelligence to every phase of the buying journey. Through this partnership, Bolt will integrate Palantir’s advanced decisioning engine to dynamically adapt checkout flows and enable smarter, contextually aware logic. Merchants will also benefit from intelligent post-checkout payment routing. Checkout 2.0 will evaluate transaction attributes—such as volume, category or geography—and select the optimal payment gateway to maximize authorization rates and reduce processing costs. This behind-the-scenes intelligence delivers better margins and a smoother experience. Checkout 2.0’s architecture includes: Self-learning shopper profiles that adapt over time based on usage, behavior and purchase history; Dynamic payment method reordering based on shopper preferences and device; Post-checkout routing optimization to improve processing economics in real time; Native crypto payment support.