Credit Sesame, the San Francisco-based credit score monitoring and advice platform, is building out its AI-based credit management tools with the help of a major fundraising round last week. 

The nine-year-old company has long provided users with free credit scores and monitoring, and it offers insights into ways to improve credit scores like lowering card usage or expanding beyond just one card. With the $43 million funding round announced Friday, which was led by New York City-based ATW Partners, Credit Sesame is trying to remove some of the friction that customers face in applying for products like credit cards and loans that they think will improve their score. The goal is to have customers apply for these products through pre-filled information directly on Credit Sesame’s site, without having to type in cumbersome information on third-party sites.

“We have all of a consumer’s credit information,” said Adrian Nazari, founder and CEO of Credit Sesame. “If (a product) meets your needs and you want it, you won’t have to expose your financial information. You don’t have to apply, and you don’t have to get rejected. You click on it, and we remove all that friction for optimizing your overall debt portfolio.”

Currently, users can create a free account on Credit Sesame in about 90 seconds. They then get access to their score as well as a full breakdown of factors affecting their score, such as credit utilization, lines of credit open and payment history. Nazari said the platform’s automated insights tool, called RoboCredit, then will suggest from one of 90 different strategies to address their credit, such as expanding a credit limit, consolidating loans or converting a revolving account to a fixed loan with lower monthly interest rates.

According to Credit Sesame, 61% of users see their credit scores improve within the first six months, and the company monitors users’ credit scores to track its own performance as a brand. Even people with good credit can find pointers on how to improve their score or maximize the positive benefits of their good score, such as finding a more rewarding credit card, Nazari noted.

Users also get free ID protection, but there is a subscription service for members who would like more stringent protection similar to that of LifeLock. In addition to the higher level of ID protection, subscribers can get more customized credit insights and unlimited access to all three credit bureaus’ data. The subscription service ranges from $15 to $20 per month, depending on what additional features users choose.

Credit Sesame’s primary source of revenue comes from commissions from financial institutions when a customer gets a loan or new credit card. Nazari said the fees to these lenders vary, but he couldn’t disclose any specifics. The company also makes money through ad revenue on its website.

In addition to ATW, Menlo Ventures, Inventus Capital, Globespan Capital, IA Capital Groups, Symantec, Capital One Ventures and Stanford University all participated in the latest funding round, which was structured as a mixture of debt and equity. More investors are thinking of joining the round, Nazari noted, adding that the company is planning an IPO within the next two quarters.

According to Nazari, there is a distinct difference between Credit Sesame and personal finance management tools like Mint. Personal credit management is more focused on one specific area, he explained, while personal finance management can range from savings to deposits to investments. “In finance, it’s very difficult to provide the best service if you’re doing so many different things,” he said. “We want to be the leader in that one thing and do it really well.”

Credit Sesame, however, isn’t the only company trying to provide better insight into credit scores. Credit Karma, which was founded in 2007, has made a name for itself providing free credit scores and a dashboard breaking down the different factors that affect a score. Despite the fact that Credit Sesame and Credit Karma get compared a lot, Nazari said his company has kept its focus entirely on credit, while Credit Karma has branched off into sectors like insurance and taxes. 

Leslie Tayne, founder of the debt relief law firm Tayne Law Group, told Bank Innovation that AI-based advice tools like Credit Sesame’s can help consumers, but they have limitations. “AI can help consumers with the big picture — it could help them pinpoint basic problems and give some foundational advice on how to improve their scores,” she said in an email. “But so much of helping people with their finances is understanding each individual’s situation, which I don’t believe AI could do.”