Is Avant profitable in 2026?

No audited figures confirm this. Third-party trackers show wildly conflicting revenue estimates (from $40M to $206M), and Avant has not disclosed profitability. Its last confirmed net loss was $15.7M on $316.7M revenue in 2017, per historical filings.

Who owns Avant the lending company?

Avant is privately held, backed by investors including KKR, Victory Park Capital, Jefferies, Tiger Global, and Ares Management, which put in a $250 million debt and equity infusion announced February 10, 2025. It is not publicly traded.

Who is Avant's CEO right now?

Unclear. Long-serving CEO Matt Bochenek died, per an obituary published June 5, 2025, and no confirmed successor CEO name has surfaced in company leadership listings as of mid-2026, though Daniel Van Hoff was named COO around January 20, 2026.

Could AI replace Avant's business?

Avant's core edge is algorithmic ML underwriting, the exact territory AI-native rival Upstart already ships publicly. Avant is hiring a Generative AI Product Manager in 2026 to keep pace, but its underwriting model is no longer a unique differentiator against AI-first competitors.

Who is Avant's biggest competitor?

Avant competes directly with Upstart, OneMain Financial, Upgrade, LendingClub, Prosper, and LendingPoint in non-prime consumer lending, and lost its MLS co-branded credit card partnership to neobank Chime, announced February 18, 2026.

Did Avant lose the MLS credit card partnership?

Yes. Major League Soccer named Chime its official Retail Banking, Credit Card, and Debit Card partner on February 18, 2026, superseding the 'MLS Forward Credit Card powered by Avant' that had launched October 18, 2023.

Banks and financial groups · United States

Avant

avant.com ↗

Chicago online lender making personal loans and credit cards to non-prime borrowers.

Protection under test

Assessed 24 July 2026 · Evidence as of 24 July 2026

Something worth protecting exists and is being tested right now.

On the recordSince 24 July 2026 · Checkable from H2 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: CFPB disparate-impact lawsuit against non-prime lenders proceeds; next Avant ABS deal terms and ratings due

The call

Avant keeps its funding and loan pipeline running while its CEO seat sits empty and a marquee sponsorship walks to Chime.

Avant is a fourteen-year-old lender that gives personal loans to people with lower credit scores, using computer programs to decide who qualifies. It has real customers and real money from investors, but so do its competitors like Upstart and OneMain, and those rivals either have more cash or better technology. The hard part for Avant is that its computer smarts are no longer special: Upstart and others built AI underwriting from scratch and are already winning customers, while Chime just stole its biggest partnership with a real estate company. The one thing that could save it is stable new leadership and proof that it can still grow its loan book faster than the numbers suggest, but right now nobody knows who is running the company after its longtime CEO died in mid-2025.

Why

AI pressure: Upstart. Upstart's AI underwriting is public and live, directly attacking the algorithmic edge Avant used to claim as its own. Could AI do the core job? Yes, likely.

Bigger players: Chime. Chime took over Avant's Major League Soccer sponsorship deal in Feb 2026, a distribution asset Avant had built for years. Could a giant copy it? Probably.

What protects it. 14 years of underwriting data across 4M customers, a WebBank charter partnership, and fresh Ares Management funding keep loans flowing.

What would change this call

Avant names a permanent CEO within 2026. Shows the leadership vacuum since Bochenek's June 2025 death is resolved.
Terms and ratings on the next Avant ABS deal after 2026-REV1. Indicates whether funding markets still view Avant's loan book as sound.
Chime expands co-branded credit products beyond the former MLS deal. Would show Chime actively absorbing more of Avant's distribution and customer base.

Key numbers

$12.5B lifetime loan originations, 4M customers (2025)
$250M debt and equity from Ares Management (2025-02-10)
16th securitization, $200M ABS deal rated by KBRA (2025-02-05)

Named risks

CEO succession unresolved more than a year after Matt Bochenek's death, June 2025. Severity: high
Revenue and headcount figures inconsistent across trackers, signaling disclosure opacity. Severity: medium
Lost marquee MLS brand partnership to neobank Chime, Feb 2026. Severity: medium
Continued dependence on securitization/ABS markets for funding (16th and later deals in 2025-2026). Severity: medium
Core ML-underwriting differentiator commoditized by AI-native public competitor Upstart. Severity: high

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
Chime	gaining on	Took over MLS official banking/credit/debit card partnership from Avant, announced 2026-02-18
Upstart	contesting	Public AI-native underwriter competing directly on Avant's core ML-underwriting differentiator, as of 2026
OneMain Financial	contesting	Branch-network non-prime lender competing for same fair-to-poor credit borrower segment, 2026 comparisons
LendingClub, Prosper, Upgrade, LendingPoint	contesting	Named as closest direct non-prime lending peers in 2026 competitor analyses

Questions people ask

Is Avant profitable in 2026?: No audited figures confirm this. Third-party trackers show wildly conflicting revenue estimates (from $40M to $206M), and Avant has not disclosed profitability. Its last confirmed net loss was $15.7M on $316.7M revenue in 2017, per historical filings.
Who owns Avant the lending company?: Avant is privately held, backed by investors including KKR, Victory Park Capital, Jefferies, Tiger Global, and Ares Management, which put in a $250 million debt and equity infusion announced February 10, 2025. It is not publicly traded.
Who is Avant's CEO right now?: Unclear. Long-serving CEO Matt Bochenek died, per an obituary published June 5, 2025, and no confirmed successor CEO name has surfaced in company leadership listings as of mid-2026, though Daniel Van Hoff was named COO around January 20, 2026.
Could AI replace Avant's business?: Avant's core edge is algorithmic ML underwriting, the exact territory AI-native rival Upstart already ships publicly. Avant is hiring a Generative AI Product Manager in 2026 to keep pace, but its underwriting model is no longer a unique differentiator against AI-first competitors.
Who is Avant's biggest competitor?: Avant competes directly with Upstart, OneMain Financial, Upgrade, LendingClub, Prosper, and LendingPoint in non-prime consumer lending, and lost its MLS co-branded credit card partnership to neobank Chime, announced February 18, 2026.
Did Avant lose the MLS credit card partnership?: Yes. Major League Soccer named Chime its official Retail Banking, Credit Card, and Debit Card partner on February 18, 2026, superseding the 'MLS Forward Credit Card powered by Avant' that had launched October 18, 2023.

Timeline

2026-02-20KBRA rates Avant Loans Funding Trust 2026-REV1 ABS deal
2026-02-18MLS names Chime official banking/card partner, replacing Avant
2026-01-20Daniel Van Hoff named Avant Chief Operating Officer
2025-06-05CEO Matt Bochenek obituary published, no successor confirmed since
2025-02-10Ares Management provides $250M debt and equity infusion to Avant
2025-02-05KBRA rates 2025-REV1, Avant's 16th securitization, $200M
2023-10-18MLS Forward Credit Card powered by Avant launches
2022-08-01Avant credit card reported to surpass 1 million cardholders (Jan 2022)
2021-12-17Avant Banking launches following Zero Financial/Level acquisition
2012-11Avant founded in Chicago by Al Goldstein, John Sun, Paul Zhang

Revision history

24 July 2026

First assessed. Protection under test. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

In the same band

Freetrade Invesco Franklin Templeton