Oscilar Company Profile
Background
Overview
Oscilar is an AI-driven risk decisioning platform founded in 2021, headquartered in Palo Alto, California. The company specializes in providing real-time risk management solutions for financial institutions, including banks, fintech companies, credit unions, and digital asset services. Oscilar's platform addresses various risk domains such as fraud detection, credit underwriting, onboarding risk, and anti-money laundering (AML) compliance. The company was co-founded by Neha Narkhede, the original creator of Apache Kafka and founder of Confluent, and Sachin Kulkarni, a former senior engineering director at Facebook.
Mission and Vision
Oscilar's mission is to empower businesses to master risk, defeat fraud, and safeguard consumers in the era of AI. The company's vision is to provide a unified, AI-native risk intelligence platform that enables financial institutions to make intelligent risk decisions faster and more effectively.
Industry Significance
In an era where online transactions are increasingly prevalent, Oscilar plays a crucial role in mitigating the rising threat of digital fraud. By leveraging advanced AI and machine learning technologies, Oscilar offers scalable and efficient solutions that help financial institutions protect their operations and customers from evolving fraud tactics.
Key Strategic Focus
Core Objectives
- Real-Time Risk Management: Provide immediate risk assessments to prevent fraudulent activities across various financial processes.
- AI-Driven Decisioning: Utilize advanced machine learning models to enhance the accuracy and speed of risk evaluations.
- No-Code Integration: Offer a user-friendly, no-code platform that allows financial institutions to customize and deploy risk models without extensive technical resources.
Areas of Specialization
- Fraud Detection: Identify and prevent fraudulent transactions in real-time.
- Credit Underwriting: Assess creditworthiness using AI-enhanced models.
- Onboarding Risk: Evaluate and mitigate risks during customer onboarding processes.
- AML Compliance: Ensure adherence to anti-money laundering regulations through continuous monitoring and reporting.
Key Technologies Utilized
- Agentic AI: Autonomously chains data-fetch, scoring, and escalation steps to provide smart recommendations and workflow support.
- Behavioral Biometrics: Analyze user behavior patterns to detect anomalies indicative of fraudulent activities.
- Machine Learning Models: Deploy purpose-built models designed for specific risk scenarios, continuously trained and tested to adapt to emerging threats.
Primary Markets Targeted
- Banks: Enhance security and compliance in financial transactions.
- Fintech Companies: Integrate advanced risk management solutions into digital financial services.
- Credit Unions: Safeguard member transactions and data.
- Digital Asset Services: Protect cryptocurrency and digital asset platforms from fraud and compliance risks.
Financials and Funding
Funding History
Oscilar was self-funded at its inception, with co-founders Neha Narkhede and Sachin Kulkarni contributing $20 million to establish the company. This strategic decision allowed for rapid development and scaling of the platform without external investment pressures.
Utilization of Capital
The initial funding was allocated towards building a robust AI-driven platform, recruiting top-tier engineering talent, and establishing partnerships to enhance the company's technological capabilities and market reach.
Pipeline Development
Key Pipeline Candidates
Oscilar's platform encompasses several key components designed to address various aspects of risk management:
- AI-Powered ACH Fraud Detection: Launched in June 2024, this feature aims to prevent fraudulent transactions in Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments.
- Cognitive Identity Intelligence Platform: Introduced in November 2024, this platform focuses on enhancing identity verification processes to combat synthetic identity fraud.
- AI Agent Platform: Unveiled in March 2025, this platform provides autonomous risk management capabilities, allowing for more efficient and scalable risk decisioning.
Stages of Development
Each component has progressed through rigorous development phases, including research, testing, and deployment, ensuring they meet industry standards and effectively address the targeted risk areas.
Target Conditions
The platforms are designed to mitigate various risk conditions, including:
- Fraudulent Transactions: Prevent unauthorized or deceptive financial activities.
- Synthetic Identity Fraud: Combat the creation of fictitious identities for fraudulent purposes.
- Compliance Violations: Ensure adherence to regulatory requirements, particularly in AML and KYC processes.
Anticipated Milestones
Oscilar aims to achieve the following milestones:
- Widespread Adoption: Expand the user base across various financial institutions.
- Continuous Improvement: Regularly update AI models to adapt to emerging fraud tactics.
- Regulatory Compliance: Maintain and enhance compliance with evolving financial regulations.
Technological Platform and Innovation
Proprietary Technologies
- Agentic AI: An AI system that autonomously manages data processing, scoring, and escalation, providing intelligent recommendations and workflow support.
- Cognitive Identity Intelligence: A platform that enhances identity verification processes to prevent synthetic identity fraud.
Significant Scientific Methods
- Behavioral Biometrics: Utilizes machine learning algorithms to analyze user behavior patterns for fraud detection.
- Machine Learning Models: Employs adaptive models that continuously learn from new data to improve risk assessments.
Leadership Team
Neha Narkhede – Co-Founder and CEO
Neha Narkhede is the co-founder and CEO of Oscilar. She is the original creator of Apache Kafka and founded Confluent, a $10 billion public company.
Sachin Kulkarni – Co-Founder and CTO
Sachin Kulkarni serves as the co-founder and CTO of Oscilar. He has over 11 years of experience at Meta, where he led the division responsible for building Facebook's internal private cloud.
Saurabh Bajaj – Chief Product Officer
Saurabh Bajaj is the Chief Product Officer at Oscilar. He has extensive experience in product and business leadership, having served as the CPO at Feedzai and GM at Shape Security (acquired by F5).
Tomas Lobo – Vice President of Marketing
Tomas Lobo is the Vice President of Marketing at Oscilar. He led the scaling of Samsara's growth marketing operations as they grew from 50 to 2,000 employees over five years.
Alex Hamacher – Vice President of Finance
Alex Hamacher serves as the Vice President of Finance at Oscilar. He is a strategic finance leader with extensive experience scaling operations through hypergrowth, having previously worked at Instabase, Docker, and Wells Fargo.
Xin Ge – Advisor
Xin Ge is an advisor to Oscilar. He has held various risk leadership roles at Afterpay, Uber, PayPal, and eBay.
Rob Frohwein – Advisor
Rob Frohwein is an advisor to Oscilar. He co-founded and served as CEO of Kabbage (acquired by American Express), providing $16 billion in business funding.
Market and Competitor Analysis
Market Insights and Dynamics
The global market for risk management software is projected to reach $23 billion by 2027, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.2%. Investment in AI and machine learning within this industry is expected to reach $5 billion by 2025. Approximately 60% of industry players report that innovation is critical for maintaining a competitive advantage.
Competitor Overview
Oscilar operates in a competitive landscape with several key players, including:
- RiskWatch: Holds about 15% market share.
- LogicManager: Commands approximately 12% market share.
- Resolver: Has around 10% market share.
- Protecht: Controls roughly 8% market share.
- MetricStream: Also a notable competitor with significant market presence.
These competitors provide a range of risk management solutions targeting various industries, highlighting the importance of innovation and specialized AI capabilities in maintaining competitive positioning within the sector.