AI is changing the way lenders and brokers process deals, and it’s not by replacing people, but by rethinking how the work gets done.

Mike Kirkup didn’t set out to build a product for the finance industry. As CTO at EnPowered, he spent too much time on the repetitive work of gathering and verifying loan documents. Solving that problem led to building what would become Arlo, an AI-powered loan processing platform for commercial lending and document automation.

Today, Arlo is used by lenders and brokers across North America to streamline loan document collection and verification. Instead of asking borrowers to upload documents one at a time, it lets them “just dump all of the documents.” The AI then identifies, extracts, and verifies what’s needed, improving speed and accuracy in loan processing workflows.

In this episode, Daniel and Mike discuss designing AI in finance with domain expertise, what happens when AI starts asking its own questions, and how building for AI from the start changes the borrower experience. They also explore the balance between giving AI more room to “play” and making sure it doesn’t ask a “stupid question” in front of a customer.

🔑 What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• ✅ How Arlo started as an internal tool and why partners asked to use it
• ✅ How AI changes the borrower experience in commercial loan processing
• ✅ Why domain expertise matters as much as the AI itself
• ✅ How to design for AI from day one instead of bolting it on later
• ✅ The trade-offs between control, unpredictability, and trust in AI

🔗 Resources & Links

• 💼 Connect with Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikekirkup
• 🏦 Learn more about Arlo: https://usearlo.com
• 📩 Subscribe to the Artificial Insights newsletter for summaries and takeaways: https://manary.haus/podcast/#haus
• 👉 Have a guest in mind? Reach out to Daniel at [email protected]

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