Yongqianbao

Yongqianbao, a brand under Beijing Zhirong Times Information Technology Co., Ltd., operated as an online lending platform targeting Chinese consumers underserved by traditional financial institutions. Founded in 2013 by CEO Jiao Ke, a computing graduate from Tsinghua University, the company aimed to address the significant portion of the Chinese population that lacked access to standard banking services and credit cards.

The firm's core business revolved around providing small, short-term loans, typically ranging from ¥500 to ¥5,000 for periods of seven to 30 days. The entire loan application process was designed to be completed through its mobile app, with a goal of disbursing funds within 30 minutes and processing approvals in as little as eight seconds. Yongqianbao's business model was centered on leveraging artificial intelligence and big data for risk assessment. Its proprietary AI model, named Conan, analyzed over 1,000 unconventional data points—such as phone charging habits, contact responsiveness, and even typing speed—to evaluate a borrower's creditworthiness. This data-driven approach allowed the company to achieve a loan approval rate of 20-30%, considerably higher than the single-digit industry average at the time, while maintaining a lower default rate.

The company gained traction and secured several funding rounds, including a Series A in 2014, a Series B in 2015, and a significant $67 million round in May 2017 co-led by Golden Brick Capital Management and CICC Alpha. This 2017 funding coincided with a rebranding to Zhirong Group, under which Yongqianbao continued as the mobile lending app alongside an AI risk control system and a big data credit management platform. By December 2017, the platform was processing 1.5 million loans monthly. However, according to PitchBook data, the company was marked as out of business as of May 2019.

Keywords: micro-lending, online loans, fintech, artificial intelligence, risk management, credit scoring, big data analytics, consumer finance, P2P lending, mobile lending, short-term loans, Jiao Ke, Zhirong Group, Conan AI, credit assessment, Chinese fintech, underserved consumers, loan application, automated underwriting, Beijing startup