How Yendo Secured $200M in Funding While Private Credit Markets Contract

Yendo recently secured $200 million in warehouse financing from i80 Group. The deal occurred at a time when only 176 private credit vehicles have closed in the last 12 months.

This is not just another round of funding. Instead, it signals the direction private credit capital will flow in a tough funding environment. Private credit vehicle formation has slowed, and it is getting tougher for weaker originators to obtain funding.

Private credit investors are backing platforms that use automation, asset backing, and disciplined scale.

Yendo developed the first vehicle-secured credit card as part of a larger effort by the company to raise an additional $50 million in Series B funding in October 2025. The company provides loans collateralized by borrower vehicles. Using automated verification tools, Yendo can assess the value and risk within minutes.

This new warehouse commitment is a continuation of the company’s efforts to expand its access to capital rather than a stand-alone event.

The model currently has $200 million in committed capital. That is significant in a constrained credit cycle.

Private Credit Freeze Raises the Stakes

Private credit activity has slowed; deal volume is at a five-year low, and investors are demanding high levels of underwriting discipline and clear risk controls.

Yendo’s funding is for a warehouse facility, which enables ongoing origination of loans and represents a long-term capital partnership, not just a one-time raise.

Every year, traditional lenders fund more than $70 billion in asset-backed consumer loans. Many continue to use manual review processes or legacy systems. Investors see automation as a way to lower costs and reduce losses.

Yendo’s agentic AI system performs end-to-end asset verification, valuation, and underwriting that traditional lenders typically do manually, Jordan Miller, Yendo CEO and co-founder, told us.

That includes confirming vehicle condition, ownership information, outstanding fees, lien status, and security interest filing, among other things, he said.

Yendo’s AI system verifies, values, and underwrites vehicle-backed loans, replacing manual processes.

“These tasks traditionally require hours of manual processing,” Miller said. “Our system does this in seconds, fully remotely, at a small fraction of the cost. Our lien perfection rate exceeds 99%.”

Capital does not disappear in a downturn. It goes to models that demonstrate discipline.

“Yendo has demonstrated exceptional credit discipline and a clear understanding of an underserved market,” i80 Group managing director Peter Frank said in the news release. “Their asset-backed approach provides real security while giving creditworthy consumers access to affordable credit.”

Vehicle-Backed Card Will Help Bridge an Access Gap

Yendo’s credit card uses a borrower’s vehicle as collateral. Many of Yendo’s target subprime borrowers have a car, but do not have home equity or sufficient credit to qualify for an unsecured credit card. This provides a narrow pathway to unsecured credit.

Yendo’s secured credit card product has saved customers over $150 million in interest and fees versus other short-term high-cost subprime lending products (i.e., high-cost installment or title), according to the company.

This supports Yendo’s position that a secured credit card can be a less expensive option than many short-term subprime lending products available today.

“The cost savings we generate are passed directly to consumers through lower rates, higher credit limits, and more inclusive offerings,” said Miller.

He continued: “Our charge-off rates are roughly half the industry benchmark. This reflects better product design, significantly lower origination costs, and serving customers with real utility rather than traditional offerings that must support inefficient operating models in addition to customer risk.”

In addition, Yendo operates in 45 states and verifies vehicles and homes via its automated system in minutes.

Yendo reports a lien perfection rate above 99% and charge-off rates about half the industry benchmark.

A secured product structure allows for both higher credit limits and lower rates than most unsecured subprime products. Yendo has experienced double-digit, year-over-year revenue and originations growth. It may be able to support additional investor participation during current tight funding conditions.

As such, Yendo will play a role in the more than $70 billion asset-backed consumer loan market, providing potential for the company to expand its business operations.

Yendo’s secured credit card product exists between traditional auto title lending and unsecured credit cards. Yendo seeks to provide lower-cost access to credit to its customers while also protecting capital by using a vehicle as collateral for the secured credit card product. This trade-off may provide comfort to cautious investors.

What This Deal Reveals About Subprime Credit and Lending

Yendo’s new warehouse commitment indicates that while private investment in subprime credit may have changed, it has not disappeared. Rather than abandoning subprime lending, investors are simply more discerning.

To attract funding today, lenders need to implement an automated process that provides some level of control over the origination process, as well as sufficient collateral to protect the lender’s investment.

Warehouse deals typically require lenders to provide consistent volumes of quality loans while requiring them to maintain disciplined underwriting practices.

As such, platforms that continue to use a manual or less efficient method of originating loans will likely find securing funding through warehouse deals much more difficult than they were in the past.

“Core credit underwriting remains with our experienced credit team using established credit models, consistent with fair lending standards,” said Miller.

Limited capital may stifle growth, but it may also raise the bar for those wishing to do business in the space.