Lender underwrites AI-native companies up to $100k using agent telemetry instead of SaaS metrics
Fair_Accountant_6685 · reddit · 2026-09-11
A lender argues AI-native companies can't be underwritten like SaaS: costs are inference, employees are agents, and revenue scales with usage rather than seats.
Their approach: lend up to $100k based on both cash flows and AI telemetry — agent usage patterns, inference economics, and revenue per agent/workflow. Key findings so far:
- Agent telemetry often predicts repayment better than the balance sheet
- Most AI-native companies can't access traditional debt even with real revenue
- "Revenue per agent" is the most useful question and almost nobody can answer it today
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