What is Curql Fund?

Curql Fund, pronounced “Circle” as the premier venture investor backed by 160+ credit unions around the United States. Their mission is to bring the latest technology and processes to their limited partners to increase relevancy, drive momentum in their movement as well as provide the best set of technology and services to millions of credit union members in the United States.

What is a Credit Union?

A Credit Union is owned by their members rather than shareholders. They are also non-for-profit, corporate financial institutions that offer checking and savings accounts and loans. Their primary focus is to return profit to their members and reduce fees to their member owners.

There are 4500 credit unions around the country. Although the number of credit unions have subsided over the years, their non-for-profit and member-centric model is catching on amongst the younger generations.

Credit Union’s Appeal to Gen Z’s

Younger generations of consumers are focusing more on social impact than their predecessors and credit unions are built around the idea of community building and the “supporting my community” message is catching on with younger generations of consumers.

Over 80% of Generation Z consumers make their purchasing decision based on the brand’s reputation and credit union’s ethical alignment lands squarely in young shopper’s ethical alignment when it comes to choosing their financial institutions.  

Economic benefits are top of mind for all American consumers today and Credit Union’s business model is member first and returning profit back to their membership which are true owners of the credit union. For a generation struggling with student debt, economic benefits that have them in mind are critical for their decision making process when it comes to choosing a financial institution.

Hurdles Ahead 

78% of Gen Zs are saying the credit union's website is outdated and confusing. 30% of Gen Zs aren’t even aware that they can join a credit union. Most importantly, 37% of Gen Z’s will leave their credit union in the coming years for better technology.

The sheer amount of digital frustration, lack of awareness and a credit union membership retention crisis is what makes Curql Fund and their accelerator critical to capture 80 million Gen Z’s and another 80 million Gen Alpha’s attention when it comes to choosing their financial services partners.

Cohort 4 - “We are Ready!”

Crebit, Gravity AI, LendAPI, Socratix, Warrant are the five firms selected to join the Spring 2026 Curql Fund’s Accelerator and are thrilled to get to work with credit unions around the country to get the message out, deliver financial products where the members are and attract the next generation of financial responsible consumers to the movement.

From cross border payments, to AI governance, from back office and marketing automation to launching new financial products that new generations of consumers shop, we are ready to take on the challenge and work and bring the best set of technology to the credit union’s members and increase awareness and adoption!

Special Thanks to Gener8tor!

We want to thank folks at Gener8tor and especially Rowan M. Hume for organizing the selection process, logistics and overall program success. We can’t wait to work with our cohort companies and get on the road to work with Credit Unions live in Florida, Washington, DC and Idaho! 

For more information, please visit Curql’s Cohort 4 website.