FinTech Balance Hero Cruises with ₩144.2B Sales, ₩35.5B Operating Profit

Fintech startup Balancehero is drawing attention with its explosive growth. Last year, it achieved KRW 144.2 billion in revenue (70%↑ year-on-year) and KRW 35.5 billion in operating profit (121%↑) based on K-GAAP, with an average revenue growth rate of approximately 100% over the past five years, resulting in a 16-fold growth compared to 2020. The total loan disbursement amount also recorded KRW 767.7 billion, a 13-fold increase compared to 2020, surpassing a cumulative KRW 1 trillion. The key drivers of this high growth are the expansion of micro-credit services utilizing an AI-based Alternative Credit Scoring system (ACS) and the platform business. Notably, the platform business, where Indian financial institutions sell products using Balancehero's ACS and pay commissions, accounts for 32% of total revenue and is driving growth. Balancehero's unique competitiveness lies in its self-developed LLM and machine learning-based ACS. This system analyzes user smartphone data and accumulated payment and loan history to recommend customized loan products. It enables India's approximately 1 billion low-to-mid credit individuals to access financial products with a review process of merely about 1 minute, significantly contributing to financial inclusion. Balancehero's strategy going forward is to target India's vast low-to-mid credit market and establish itself as a leading financial platform. It plans to accelerate its scalable and highly profitable platform business without the constraints of self-funding, solidifying its position as a high-profit one-stop credit platform provider aiming for over 50% annual revenue growth. CEO Lee Chul-won expressed confidence, stating, "Based on our unrivaled ACS technology and know-how, we will continue to achieve high growth of over 50% annually."