Pagaya Technologies

Pagaya Technologies is an Israeli-American financial technology company headquartered in New York City, with a technology and development presence in Tel Aviv. It applies artificial intelligence, machine learning, and large-scale data analysis to lending and investment processes, with the stated objective of expanding access to credit while modernizing the way financial institutions evaluate loan applications. The company was founded in Israel in 2016 by Gal Krubiner, Avital Pardo, and Yahav Yulzari. Its early model combined two activities: operating as an asset manager for institutional investors and building a proprietary, data-driven credit assessment system. Rather than relying only on conventional credit-check methods, Pagaya’s platform was designed to assess loan applications through broader patterns in borrower and financial data. The company’s technology was used in connection with consumer lending and other credit assets, while institutional capital and asset-backed securities helped finance the loans selected through its system. Pagaya’s business has therefore occupied an intersection between fintech software, credit analytics, alternative asset management, and structured finance. Its platform is intended to help banks, lenders, and other financial institutions originate or distribute loans while connecting those assets with institutional investors. This approach differs from a conventional consumer-facing bank: Pagaya is principally positioned as infrastructure and intelligence for financial institutions rather than as a retail lender operating under its own widely recognized consumer brand. The company reported substantial early expansion. By 2020, it managed more than US$1.6 billion in assets for banks and other institutions and had issued more than US$1 billion in asset-backed securities. Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC was among the investors in the company. These activities helped establish Pagaya’s model of using technology to aggregate, evaluate, and finance credit assets at institutional scale. In September 2021, Pagaya announced an agreement to combine with EJF Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company. The proposed transaction valued Pagaya at approximately US$8.5 billion and led to its public-market listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 2022. During the listing period, the company divided administrative and development activity between Tel Aviv and New York and stated that its workforce had reached approximately 1,000 employees by 2022. In January 2024, management announced that the company would move its headquarters to New York because most of its partners and sales activity were located in the United States. The technical development site in Tel Aviv was retained, preserving the company’s Israeli technology base while aligning its corporate center with its principal commercial market. Pagaya’s current positioning emphasizes an AI-enabled platform for banks, lenders, and institutional investors. Its strategic ambition is to become a broad technology bridge between financial institutions seeking better credit and investment tools and capital providers seeking access to diversified credit assets. At the 2025 Mind the Tech conference in New York, chief executive Gal Krubiner described a vision in which the platform would serve major U.S. banks. The company consequently presents itself as both a financial-technology provider and a technology-enabled credit-market intermediary, though its long-term performance remains dependent on institutional adoption, credit-market conditions, regulatory expectations, and the reliability and explainability of its automated models.

Pagaya Technologies originated in Israel in 2016, when Gal Krubiner, Avital Pardo, and Yahav Yulzari founded the company around the idea that artificial intelligence and machine learning could improve lending decisions beyond traditional credit-screening practices. The founders pursued a model that combined financial-market activity with technology development. Pagaya initially operated as an asset manager for institutional clients while building a proprietary credit model capable of evaluating loan applications and identifying patterns in large datasets. The company’s early activities focused on consumer loans and institutional finance. Rather than functioning only as a software vendor, Pagaya used private funding and asset-backed securities to support the financing of loans selected or assessed through its technology. This gave the company a role in both the analysis of credit and the movement of credit assets into institutional investment portfolios. The model sought to connect banks and other originators with capital providers while using automated analytics to broaden and standardize assessment. Pagaya reported rapid growth during its first several years. By 2020, it managed more than US$1.6 billion in assets for banks and other institutions and had issued more than US$1 billion in asset-backed securities. GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, was among the investors associated with the company. These developments indicated that Pagaya was pursuing institutional scale rather than limiting its technology to a small lending operation. A major corporate turning point came in September 2021, when Pagaya announced a combination with EJF Acquisition Corp., a U.S. special purpose acquisition company. The transaction was reported to value Pagaya at approximately US$8.5 billion. The SPAC route provided a mechanism for Pagaya to enter the public markets while continuing to develop its financial-technology platform. During the listing process, the company maintained an organizational structure spanning Tel Aviv and New York. It also reported a workforce of approximately 1,000 employees by 2022. Pagaya became listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2022. Its public-company identity reinforced the importance of the U.S. financial market to its commercial strategy, although Tel Aviv remained important for technical development. In January 2024, management announced the relocation of the headquarters to New York. The stated rationale was that most of the company’s partners and sales activity were based in the United States; the Tel Aviv development center was not abandoned. The headquarters change reflected a broader effort to align corporate leadership and business development with U.S. banks, lenders, and institutional investors. Pagaya’s platform is designed to evaluate credit applications and support investment management, making its commercial prospects closely tied to the willingness of established financial institutions to use external AI systems in underwriting and portfolio construction. Its position also places it within regulated and highly scrutinized areas of finance, where model performance, transparency, data quality, consumer protection, and credit-cycle risk are material considerations. By 2025, the company was articulating an expansive platform strategy. At the Mind the Tech conference in New York, CEO Gal Krubiner described a vision of serving major U.S. banks and characterized Pagaya as a bridge between Israeli technology capabilities and the U.S. financial market. The company’s history thus combines Israeli startup origins, institutional asset management, securitized-credit financing, a U.S. public-market listing, and an increasingly U.S.-centered commercial footprint. Its defining proposition remains the use of AI and machine learning to connect credit origination, risk assessment, and institutional investment.

• 2025

  U.S. banking-platform vision presented

  [1]Pagaya Technologiesen.wikipedia.org

  CEO Gal Krubiner presented Pagaya’s ambition to serve major U.S. banks at the Mind the Tech conference in New York.

• 2024

  Headquarters moved to New York

  [1]Pagaya Technologiesen.wikipedia.org

  The company announced that its headquarters would relocate to New York while its Tel Aviv technical development site remained in operation.

• 2022

  New York Stock Exchange listing

  [1]Pagaya Technologiesen.wikipedia.org

  Pagaya became a publicly listed company on the New York Stock Exchange following its SPAC transaction.

• 2021

  SPAC combination announced

  [1]Pagaya Technologiesen.wikipedia.org

  Pagaya announced a combination with EJF Acquisition Corp., with the transaction reported to value the company at approximately US$8.5 billion.

• 2020

  Early institutional scale

  [1]Pagaya Technologiesen.wikipedia.org

  Pagaya reported managing more than US$1.6 billion in assets for banks and other institutions and having issued more than US$1 billion in asset-backed securities by this point.

• 2016

  Company founded in Israel

  [1]Pagaya Technologiesen.wikipedia.org

  Gal Krubiner, Avital Pardo, and Yahav Yulzari founded Pagaya to apply AI and machine learning to lending and credit evaluation.

An AI-driven fintech infrastructure platform for banks, lenders, and institutional investors.

• Credit analytics software · 2016

  AI Credit and Loan Evaluation Platform

  Pagaya’s core technology uses artificial intelligence, machine learning, and broad data analysis to evaluate loan applications and credit assets. It is intended to supplement or modernize conventional credit checks for financial institutions, helping lenders and partners assess borrowers and portfolios through data-driven models.

• Investment management · 2016

  Institutional Asset-Management Solutions

  Pagaya operates as an institutional investment and asset-management platform in addition to providing technology. Its model connects institutional capital with consumer-loan and other credit assets, using analytics to support portfolio selection, management, and financing.

• Structured finance

  Asset-Backed Securities Financing Platform

  The company has used asset-backed securities and private funding to finance consumer loans and channel credit assets toward institutional investors. This activity complements its software and analytics functions by providing a structured-finance route for scaling loan portfolios.

• 2024

  Relocate corporate headquarters to New YorkStrategy

  Background

  Management stated that most of the company’s partners and sales activity were in the United States, while the company continued to maintain a technical development site in Tel Aviv.

  Action taken

  Pagaya announced that its headquarters would move to New York and that its Tel Aviv development operation would remain.

  Aftermath

  The decision further aligned corporate management with Pagaya’s primary commercial market while preserving its Israeli technology base.

  Source

• 2021

  Approve a public-market combination with EJF Acquisition Corp.M&A

  Background

  Pagaya needed a route to public markets while expanding its institutional fintech platform. The proposed transaction was structured as a merger with a U.S. special purpose acquisition company and was reported to imply a valuation of approximately US$8.5 billion.

  Action taken

  Pagaya announced the combination with EJF Acquisition Corp. and proceeded toward a New York Stock Exchange listing.

  Aftermath

  The transaction led to Pagaya’s public listing in 2022 and strengthened its identity as a U.S.-market-facing financial-technology company.

  Reported transaction valuation. Approximately US$8.5 billion (September 2021 announcement)

  Source

1. 1Pagaya Technologiesen.wikipedia.org