Fintech startup Riverline AI has raised USD 825,000 in a pre-seed round led by South Park Commons (SPC), with participation from DeVC, gradCapital and several angel investors from companies such as Google, Meta, Tesla, M2P and HyperVerge. The funding comes as the Bengaluru-based company builds an AI-driven platform aimed at supporting distressed borrowers and improving loan recovery for financial institutions.
Riverline AI Funding
Founded in 2024 by Ankit Sanghvi, Jayanth Krishnaprakash and Abhishek Gupta, Riverline is developing AI debt-counsellor agents to help individuals make informed decisions while interacting with banks and lenders. The company plans to deploy the fresh capital to strengthen its engineering team and scale its AI stack. The platform is being prepared to manage more than one lakh daily interactions across 12 languages as it navigates credit-risk assessments for lenders.
Riverline states that its systems currently handle collections work for digital-first lenders. The AI platform is reportedly managing recovery efforts on over ₹100 crore worth of distressed loans every month. The company works with lenders such as Cred, Freo, Nira and Propelld, offering an alternative to conventional recovery systems that often pressure borrowers.
AI-Based Loan Support
The startup says that the idea emerged after reviewing more than 2,000 debt collection calls. According to the founders, conventional loan recovery practices sometimes fail to properly assess borrower hardship, resulting in limited support for individuals facing financial stress. Riverline’s approach uses behavioural science techniques, framing its engagement model around building trust between borrowers and lenders.
The platform tries to evaluate borrowers without punitive communication, using AI agents trained to understand repayment constraints. This structure is intended to help lenders recover dues, while potentially improving financial behaviour and credit health for borrowers. The company believes that empathetic interactions can make debt management more sustainable for both sides.
The founders further state that as digital banking grows, debt resolution models must align with rapidly evolving financial behaviour. They expect artificial intelligence to become critical in helping banks and NBFCs process credit risk faster, reduce human error, and build scalable interactions in local languages. This, they believe, could enable broader adoption of AI-driven support systems in consumer finance.
Shift Toward AI Banking
Riverline’s nine-member team includes industry and academic experience from IIT Madras, Carnegie Mellon, Stripe and Navi. The startup believes that the next stage of banking evolution goes beyond mobile interfaces, moving toward AI-first systems that can understand and respond to borrower behaviour at scale. The founders describe this as a bottom-up approach, beginning with collections rather than customer acquisition.
The firm envisions AI-powered banking models that emerge from better loan recovery and borrower trust. Instead of replicating traditional systems in digital form, the company expects new players in the sector to build financial products around data-driven repayment patterns and responsible credit support. This approach positions AI as a core mechanism rather than an add-on tool.
Fintech Startups
AI integration in financial services has increased as lenders seek tools that evaluate payment risk, support compliance and reduce operational burdens. Across India, fintech startups are experimenting with automated advisory services, alternative credit scoring, and digital collections.
As more borrowers and banks shift online, platforms offering structured debt support and behavioural insights are gaining attention. In this broader landscape, Riverline’s focus on empathetic engagement highlights how technology-driven financial solutions are expanding beyond lending into debt management and recovery.
