August 5, 2025

Parlay Finance, a fintech startup focused on transforming the small business lending space with its Loan Intelligence System (LIS), closed a summer seed funding round to accelerate its growth and expand nationwide reach. The round was led by JAM FINTOP, a venture firm that invests in technologies supporting community banks and other mission-driven financial institutions.

Before this 2025 seed round, Parlay Finance raised a 2024 preseed round led by Fenway Summer with participation from additional Venture Capital funds and investors, including Hivers & Strivers (a venture group focused on military veteran-led startups) and Techstars. These early funds were instrumental in helping Parlay validate its LIS, build an MVP, and begin forming relationships with credit unions and community banks. This early support laid a strong foundation for Parlay’s momentum, ultimately setting the stage for their successful seed round and flagship enterprise clients that include one of America's top 10 SBA lenders.

Parlay is building tools that make small business and SBA lending faster, simpler, and more accessible, especially for community banks and credit unions that often face tech limitations. Its flagship solution, the Loan Intelligence System (LIS), streamlines key parts of the lending process through automation and AI.

What makes Parlay different?

Parlay’s Loan Intelligence System is designed with a clear goal: to provide lenders with AI-native lending capabilities that can bolt on to their existing technology stacks, preventing the need for a full tech overhaul. That means no system replacements, minimal training, and fast implementation. Here’s what sets the platform apart:

• Automates the small business loan intake process: LIS handles document collection, borrower onboarding, makes third-party API calls, and orchestrates application data at machine speed to surface eligibility recommendations, reducing time to funding and human error.

• Integrates with existing systems: The platform was built to work alongside legacy loan origination and core systems, which lowers the barrier to adoption for smaller institutions.

• Enables smarter, faster decisions: AI features help lenders assess risk, process documents, and manage workflows more efficiently, and understand their applicants by creating a comprehensive small business data asset.

• Supports community-focused lending: By targeting community banks and credit unions, Parlay helps smaller institutions stay competitive in a rapidly evolving market and provide tailored support to loan applicants.

Why now?

Community financial institutions are under pressure to modernize, but many lack the resources or appetite to rip out and replace their core systems. Parlay offers a bridge: practical innovation that enhances service without disruption.

“Our goal is to support lenders in serving small businesses more effectively,” said Alex McLeod, Co-Founder of Parlay. “This funding allows us to deepen integrations, enhance AI capabilities, and help more institutions streamline their workflows and improve the borrower experience.”

With this new funding, Parlay plans to:

• Expand its team to support growth and onboarding.

• Build deeper integrations with banking systems.

• Add more AI-driven capabilities to its LIS platform.

• Broaden outreach to financial institutions across the country.

A fintech with real-world impact

Parlay’s model fits perfectly into the growing ecosystem of mission-driven fintech: technology that delivers practical, scalable results without adding complexity. It is already resonating with smaller financial institutions that want to grow their small business portfolios without sacrificing efficiency or customer experience.

By aligning with the workflows and realities of local banks and credit unions, Parlay is carving out a unique niche and positioning itself as a trusted partner for small business lending innovation.

Learn more at https://www.parlay.finance/ 

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