# CU Direct

> CU Direct is a VC fund in Irvine backing SaaS, FinTech and Big Data. See 1 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Irvine, United States
- Total investments: 1
- Last investment: Nov 2022
- Lead investor: 0%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company-beta/25690
- Website: https://x.com/CUDirect
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cudirect

CU Direct is a VC fund in Irvine focused on SaaS and FinTech. CU Direct helps credit unions, dealers and affinity groups succeed. Credit unions began with the proposition that they could provide everyday people with real lending alternatives.CU Direct built on that proposition. Since 1994, CU Direct’s focus has been helping credit unions succeed at providing a unique brand of lending – excellent,efficient and designed to serve the member.Lending is a constant, but the world is changing. CU Direct helps credit unions deliver the solutions, products and features that meet the demands of today’s members – from leading-edge mobile technology to powerful, configurable lending platforms, analytics and reporting, auto-buying tools, retail lending solutions and more. As the pace of change accelerates, so does their commitment to keeping credit unions competitive with an increasingly comprehensive suite of products designed to help your credit union grow and succeed.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for CU Direct. Shizune tracks 7 team members at CU Direct. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/cu-direct?utm_source=investor_profile

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SaaS | 1 | 100% |
| FinTech | 1 | 100% |
| Big Data | 1 | 100% |
| Machine Learning | 1 | 100% |
| Financial Services | 1 | 100% |

6 industries tracked in total.

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bob Child | Chief Operating Officer | 0 | — |
| Brian Hendricks | Chief Product Officer | 0 | — |
| David Buckler | VP of Software Engineering | 0 | — |
| Jeffrey Shood | CTO | 0 | — |
| Neetu Bhagat | Chief Financial Officer | 0 | — |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Zest AI | Zest AI makes the power of machine learning safe to use in credit underwriting. The Zest Model Management System enables lenders to analyze vast amounts of credit data to help increase approval rates and reduce the risk of faulty credit decisions. The platform also provides the ability to explain data modeling results to measure business impact andhelp comply with regulatory requirements. Lenders using Zest AI software make better decisions and better loans—increasing revenue, reducing risk, and automating compliance. | $50.6M | Series F | Nov 02, 2022 |  |

1 of 1 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Insight Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/insight-partners) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [TruStage Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/cmfg-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Curql](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/curql) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- Golden 1 Credit Union — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- Hawaii Federal Credit Union — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Northgate Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/northgate-capital) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## Similar investors

### Similar stage
- [Graphene Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/graphene-ventures) — VC Fund
- [Integra Holdings](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/integra-holdings) — VC Fund
- [Shinhan Financial Group](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/shinhan-financial-group1) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does CU Direct invest in?

CU Direct invests primarily in SaaS, FinTech and Big Data startups, most often at Series F stage. Most of the 1 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### How do I contact CU Direct?

Public channels for CU Direct include LinkedIn, the website linked on this profile and Facebook. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.

### Who are the partners at CU Direct?

The team at CU Direct includes Bob Child (Chief Operating Officer), Brian Hendricks (Chief Product Officer) and David Buckler (VP of Software Engineering), among 7 team members tracked by Shizune. The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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