The AI lending marketplace redefining how America borrows.
San Mateo, CA
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Spend some time with @paulxgu and @petkevichdan in the car talking about the beginnings of Upstart, lots about the model and sheep. Yes, sheep.
New on Cars and Capitalists:
Paul Gu (@paulxgu), CEO and Co-Founder of @Upstart.
@Upstart is an AI lender worth $2.5B today. They did $1B in revenue in 2025, up 64%, grew originations 86%, and were profitable. Paul took over as CEO from co-founder Dave Girouard (@davegirouard) in May.
Before that, Paul was Upstart's CTO and built its first credit models. He's a Thiel Fellow and Yale dropout who came out of quant finance.
In this episode of Cars and Capitalists, we discuss:
0:00 - "The model's gonna suck": why you can't copy Upstart
2:02 - Three sheep, two breeds, one A/B test
8:13 - The core business: 50 million Americans the prime market won't serve
21:20 - Inflating away the debt vs. the hard choices nobody will make
29:58 - Cartoon math: $100 of loans, $5 of contribution, a 20% fund
41:33 - The real moat: Jane Street techniques pointed at consumer credit
58:03 - The golf trip problem, and paying dealers to pick you
1:06:03 - "No one wants to fund a new product. It's like nuclear waste"
1:16:51 - Killing auto refi, the product they were best at
1:24:42 - 2040: relevant to economic history, and unambiguously pro-human
Thanks to our sponsor @rootvc.
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"I want to unambiguously have the best credit product for every American in every situation, and I want Upstart to be the most trusted brand in consumer credit." -CEO @paulxgu, on Fintech One-On-One
Paul joined @peterrenton to discuss the future of Upstart.
Listen here: fintechoneonone.com/upstart-…
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Hear @paulxgu at the at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia and Technology Conference on September 8, 2026 at 11:30 AM PDT
event.webcasts.com/starthere…
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Whether someone is applying for a personal, auto or home loan, the first step is understanding the risk behind their application.
CEO @PaulXGu shares how that foundation is helping Upstart expand into new areas of lending in his conversation with @7investing.
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People assume Upstart is built for those early in their credit journey. CEO Paul Gu, on @7investing: that's part of it — not the whole story.
We've found people across every walk of life falling through the cracks — even "OK" mid-range scores, forced into the wrong credit, paying too much.
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Grant Schneider joined Upstart in 2014 to build AI models that said yes to people banks turned away. @OhioXOrg named him one of the 25 people building its AI economy. 🎉
Congrats, Grant. Full AI25 list: ohiotechnews.com/ai25-2026-p…
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CNBC recently named us one of the world's top fintech companies for 2026 (alternative financing category).
Translation: AI works in lending. The old credit model left millions of people behind. We built a better one.
cnbc.com/worlds-top-fintech-…
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Our CEO @Paulxgu chatted with @7Innovator of @7investing to answer two questions following Q2 earnings. Watch below 👇
Upstart's CEO: "Here's What Investors Are Missing"
On Friday I had a conversation with Upstart Holdings' new CEO Paul Gu.
The reason was because I had two important questions that I just wasn't hearing the media or any other investors asking him:
1) Will Upstart's new secured products like Home and Auto loans will be as disruptive as those for unsecured Consumer loans?
In other words, will your AI models also have an edge in these new markets too?
2) How does Upstart intend to use its new banking charter as a competitive advantage rather than as a distraction to its relationship with regional banking customers?
His answers clarified their strategy and they made a ton of sense.
This short, 15 minute conversation is a must-watch for any investor who owns - or may soon own - shares of $UPST.
@paulxgu @Upstart @7investing
piped.video/watch?v=boRJWSGU…
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This is Upstart's first brand campaign.
"Money for the moments that matter™" came out of a simple belief: borrowing isn't just about money. It's about finding the support you need, so you can get back to what really matters.
piped.video/watch?v=znWNoWax…
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Thanks to our partners for bringing this to life:
Agency: STATEMENT OF
Directors: Kummerl Twins
#UpstartMoments
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Tune into @paulxgu's Fireside Chat at the Bank of America Virtual SMID Cap Conference today at 11:00amET.
Link here: bofa.veracast.com/webcasts/b…
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Watch CEO @paulxgu talk about how Upstart’s AI models compound every quarter with @YahooFinance's @joshuahlipton👇
finance.yahoo.com/video/4-re…
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Head to our Investor Relations site ▶️ ir.upstart.com/ for the Q2 call replay and financial results.
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All of our products are seeing strong origination growth. Unsecured originations (including personal loans, cash line and small-dollar loans) grew 20% QoQ (+38 YoY). On the secured side, Home was up 14% QoQ (+139% YoY) and Auto was up 62% QoQ (+264% YoY), with both advancing towards profitability.
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