Sivo

High-Level Overview

Sivo is a fintech company offering debt-as-a-service (DaaS), enabling companies such as fintechs, neobanks, and gig platforms to lend money to their users at scale through an API and risk protocol. It acts as a marketplace connecting companies that want to open new debt facilities with institutional lenders seeking to deploy capital. Sivo’s product simplifies and accelerates access to debt capital, allowing originators to configure lending programs tailored to their needs without complex fees or warrants. This approach helps startups and platforms quickly launch lending offers while providing financial institutions access to new customer segments and yield opportunities.

For investment firms, Sivo represents a cutting-edge fintech innovation focused on streamlining debt provision in the digital economy, particularly in sectors like fintech, gig economy platforms, and neobanking. Its impact on the startup ecosystem includes accelerating the growth of lending startups by reducing the time and complexity of raising debt capital, thus fostering innovation in financial services.

Origin Story

Founded in 2020 and based in San Francisco, Sivo was created by Kate Hiscox, a seasoned entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience and previous successful exits, including an IPO. The idea emerged from the need to solve the lengthy and complex process companies face when raising debt capital, which can take up to two years. Sivo launched publicly in 2021 and quickly gained traction, signing $1.5 billion in term sheets within three months and onboarding hundreds of originators. The founding team brings deep expertise in risk, debt, and enterprise software from top firms like Goldman Sachs, Revolut, and Citigroup.

Core Differentiators

• Product Differentiators: Sivo offers a transparent, secured credit-like debt facility without warrants, advance rates, or complex fees, making it straightforward for originators to understand and scale their lending programs.
• Developer Experience: The platform provides an API and risk protocol that allow seamless integration and rapid deployment of lending products.
• Speed and Ease of Use: Companies can launch lending offers quickly, bypassing the traditional multi-year debt raising process.
• Community Ecosystem: Sivo supports a growing network of over 600 originators and institutional lenders, creating a marketplace that benefits both supply and demand sides of debt capital.

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Sivo rides the wave of embedded finance and fintech innovation, where non-bank platforms increasingly offer financial services directly to their users. The timing is crucial as digital platforms and gig economy businesses demand flexible, scalable lending solutions to support their users’ financial needs. Market forces such as the rise of neobanks, gig work, and the digitization of financial services favor Sivo’s model. By enabling companies to embed lending capabilities without building debt infrastructure from scratch, Sivo influences the broader ecosystem by accelerating financial inclusion and innovation.

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Looking ahead, Sivo is poised to expand its footprint by onboarding more originators and institutional partners, potentially scaling beyond fintech and gig platforms into other sectors requiring embedded lending. Trends such as increased demand for instant credit, real-time risk assessment, and API-driven financial services will shape its growth. Sivo’s influence may evolve to become a foundational infrastructure provider for debt capital in the digital economy, much like Stripe is for payments, further transforming how companies lend money to their users at scale.