Blend Unveils Vision for Intelligent Origination: A New Operating Model for Lending
AI-powered framework embeds intelligence directly into the heart of lending to transform execution speed, accuracy, and oversight.
SAN FRANCISCO — October 15, 2025 — Blend Labs, Inc. (NYSE: BLND), a leading digital origination platform for banks, credit unions, and mortgage lenders, today announced Intelligent Origination—an AI-powered system built deeply into Blend’s digital lending platform to redefine how lending operates.
With Intelligent Origination, Blend is moving beyond traditional, bolt-on AI features by embedding agentic intelligence directly into the heart of lending, where decisions are made and actions are taken. This marks a fundamental shift in the operating model for lending, from tools that assist to systems that execute.
Why A New Model is Needed
Over the past decade, Blend has helped financial institutions digitize nearly every step of the lending process, from application to close, creating faster and simpler borrower experiences. Yet the industry’s cost structure remains stubbornly high, averaging more than $11,000 per mortgage and $2,000 per home equity loan, with cycle times often stretching 20 to 30 days.
While most institutions are exploring AI, few have achieved meaningful transformation. A recent MIT study found that 80% of financial institutions are experimenting with AI and 40% are piloting, yet only 5% reach production. The reason: most rely on bolt-on tools that create more alerts, more handoffs, and more operational complexity.
“Traditional automation digitizes tasks but can’t always reason across the gray areas where lending decisions truly happen,” said Nima Ghamsari, Co-Founder and Head of Blend. “With Intelligent Origination, we’re reimagining that model—placing human expertise at the center while building systems that execute with speed, accuracy, and oversight.”
What Makes Intelligent Origination Different
Blend’s Intelligent Origination represents a new class of applied AI—one that operates within the execution layer of lending, not on top of it. By orchestrating data, documents, and product rules in context, the system moves from isolated task automation to continuous, end-to-end execution.
Unlike standalone AI tools, Intelligent Origination connects every part of the process through a unified model that understands relationships across loan-level data, borrower documents, and investor guidelines. This contextual awareness allows AI to handle more complex decisions autonomously—validating data, identifying discrepancies, and triggering the right next steps in real time.
The result is faster, more accurate, and more consistent lending outcomes, without sacrificing control. Humans stay in the loop where judgment matters most, while AI manages the repetitive and rules-driven work with full transparency and auditability.
What’s Next for Intelligent Origination
The first implementation of Intelligent Origination focuses on high-impact back-office use cases where lenders face the most manual work and see the fastest ROI. These include:
- Data & document intelligence that reads, analyzes, and validates data across hundreds of pages with precision.
- Dynamic follow-up logic that determines next steps when information is missing.
- Pre-funding quality control that reviews every file for accuracy before funding.
Early pilot partners are already seeing what Intelligent Origination makes possible. “For the first time, we can see a path to full-file QC before funding. Individual checks that once took analysts 20 minutes per task now happen in seconds. That speed doesn’t just reduce costs—it may allow us to review every loan in the future, turning quality control from a reactive process into a proactive safeguard.”Starting in 2026, Blend will expand Intelligent Origination into additional use cases across fraud detection, income and asset verification, loan officer tools, and borrower communication spanning mortgage, home equity, consumer lending, and deposit products.
Visit blend.com/platform/intelligent-origination to learn more or request a demo.
About Blend
Blend Labs Inc., (NYSE: BLND) is a leading digital origination platform for banks, credit unions, and mortgage lenders. From mortgages to consumer loans to deposit accounts, Blend helps financial institutions streamline workflows, launch faster, and deliver standout customer experiences. In 2024, Blend’s platform powered $1.2 trillion in loan applications. Learn more at blend.com.
Press Contact
Chloé Demeunynck
Corporate Communications
press@blend.com