Sydney AI fintech OpenDebt has raised $2 million in a pre-Seed round as it looks to expland into the US market, where household debt in delinquency tops $1 trillion.
The raise was backed by Blackbird and early-stage VC Antler, and will be deployed on scaling the team and operations, as well as exploring US partnership opportunities.
Former Westpac data and AI executive Norman Yan, a 15-year banking veteran, founded OpenDebt with Jonas Tischer 12 months ago, taking a compliance and consumer-focused approach to debt recovery, involving AI agents in multichannel conversations.
The AI is designed to identify why an account is unpaid and respond accordingly, offering simpler ways for people ready to settle their account and for someone in financial hardship, specialist support. OpenDebt is already working with several local lenders and collection agencies.
Unpacking the why
Yan said his startup’s approach is effective in addressing high volume, ‘low value’ accounts that aren’t worthwhile for traditional debt collection because the cost exceeds the value, including BNPL, payday loans, utilities, healthcare and credit card debts, because AI has cut the cost of engagement with consumers.
“An unpaid account doesn’t tell you why someone hasn’t paid. Some people are ready to resolve it but want a simpler way to do that,” he said.
“Others are experiencing hardship, have a question about the balance, or need to speak with someone.
“OpenDebt exists to help lenders and collection agencies respond to those different circumstances, cost effectively and at scale. That means straightforward resolution through voice AI agents or other digital channels where appropriate, and a clear path to a trained person when someone needs help.”
The startup launched with real-time compliance guidance to agents, building the compliance and quality framework it now applies to its own ‘compliance-first’ AI agents, which disclose they’re AI from the start.
“Scaling expertise and judgement is central to OpenDebt’s technology, with every customer receiving the same level of support, whether theirs is the first call of the day or the 10,000th,” Yan said.
“We believe AI will fundamentally change how debt recovery conversations happen. Our ambition is to make a consistent, responsive experience available at a scale that hasn’t been ossible before, while helping specialists focus their judgement where it matters most.”
SMS and email self-service options mean someone can settle an account without speaking to anyone.
Digging deeper with AI
Tischer, the CTO, said getting an AI agent to speak naturally was just only one part of the challenge.
“It needs to work with accurate account information, stay within the client’s approved terms and respond appropriately when someone raises a dispute or reveals financial difficulty,” he said.
“We’ve built on the compliance and quality framework we developed supporting debt recovery specialists. We use that to assess how the AI handles conversations, where it needs to stop and bring in a specialist, and whether the handover gives that person the context they need. That’s the work behind making these conversations reliable at scale.”
Blackbird partner Samantha Wong said Yan’s insider knowledge, combined with Tischer’s technical ambition to reimagine the industry excited them.
“They’ve found a way to reach accounts the industry had quietly written off because they simply cost too much to pursue, delivering a standout AI solution in a market that is notoriously hard to build for,” she said.
Antler partner Michael Kron said the duo deeply understand a problem financial services has ignored for too long.
“Their vision has quickly evolved from agent-assist for collection to an autonomous AI native debt collection technology, acquiring multiple ASX-listed customers in just six months – a top-tier pace in a highly regulated and compliance-focused sector,” he said.
