Born from frontline frustration and accelerated by NEC X, Cosmos AI is transforming one of finance’s toughest jobs into an intelligent, scalable system

When Hard Work Isn’t Enough

Debt collection is one of the most critical—and broken—functions in financial services. Behind every repayment is a system powered by human agents working long hours, managing constant follow-ups, and navigating emotionally charged conversations.

But the system hasn’t evolved.

For Karan Shah, co-founder of Cosmos AI, that reality became clear while working in the finance industry:

“Collections teams were working incredibly hard, but they were stuck with outdated systems and processes that just didn’t scale. The turnover was staggering 40 to 50%. People would get trained, burn out, and leave. I kept thinking—there has to be a better way to do this.”

What Karan saw wasn’t just inefficiency. It was a structural problem—one that placed human effort where technology should have been.

A Founder’s Journey From Fintech to AI

Before founding Cosmos AI, Karan worked at Poonawalla Fincorp, where he gained a behind-the-scenes view of lending and collections operations. The experience stayed with him.

Seeking deeper technical expertise, he moved to the U.S. to pursue a Master’s in Computer Science at Cornell University. There, he immersed himself in AI and scalable systems—while continuously returning to the same question: why are humans still doing work machines are better suited for?

Meanwhile, co-founder Michael Womick had been on a parallel path.

A lifelong builder, Michael wrote his first program in elementary school and later studied computer graphics and imaging at UNC Chapel Hill. As AI systems rapidly advanced, he recognized a shift happening in real time:

“I saw agentic AI as a platform shift on the scale of the biggest technological revolutions. I wanted to find where those capabilities could solve real, high-impact problems.”

The two met through Y Combinator’s co-founder matching platform—and immediately aligned. Both believed AI shouldn’t just power demos. It should solve real operational pain.

The Moment Everything Clicked

Cosmos AI didn’t set out to assist collections teams—it set out to replace the limitations of the system itself.

The platform automates the entire collections lifecycle, from early-stage outreach to final payment resolution. Companies can upload portfolios or integrate directly with internal systems, and the AI takes over.

At its core is an AI agent designed to operate like a top-performing collections representative—only without the constraints of time, scale, or burnout.

“Imagine your best collections agent—someone who never forgets a detail, negotiates calmly, and follows up perfectly. Now imagine that agent working 24/7, at scale, without burnout. That’s Cosmos AI.”

The system evaluates each debtor individually, tailoring outreach based on account details, payment history, and behavioral signals. It engages through voice, SMS, and email—holding human-like conversations, adapting in real time, and remembering every prior interaction.

Advanced machine learning models optimize when and how outreach happens, maximizing recovery probability. Meanwhile, a real-time dashboard gives companies full visibility and control.

Rather than adding more people to a broken system, Cosmos AI rebuilds it entirely.

Real Impact for Business and People

Cosmos AI is already delivering measurable results.

Across early deployments, customers are seeing up to 67% cost savings and 2x faster collections, with 22-25% increased repayment rates across portfolios.

But one of the most unexpected outcomes has been behavioral.

“Many debtors actually feel more comfortable talking to AI,” Karan explains. “There’s less judgment, less emotional pressure. That leads to more honest conversations and better outcomes.”

For financial institutions, the operational impact is just as significant. Instead of managing constant hiring cycles in a high-turnover industry, they gain a consistent, scalable solution.

In 2025, Cosmos AI participated in two accelerator programs, raised nearly $400,000, secured enterprise pilots, and built an $8M pipeline—clear signals of strong market demand.

Accelerating With NEC X

A major inflection point came through Elev X!.

Cosmos AI entered the program at an early stage—when the idea was still forming. Through structured, hands-on guidance, Elev X! helped the team validate their direction and focus on execution.

“When we joined Elev X!, Cosmos was more conviction than company,” says Karan. “The program helped us pressure-test the idea and build something customers would actually pay for.”

By the time they reached later stages, the company was already running enterprise pilots.

What stood out most was the practicality:

“There was no fluff. It was all about execution—how to build fast, talk to customers, and iterate based on real feedback.”

Beyond the program itself, NEC’s network opened doors to enterprise customers and investors, while collaboration with NEC Labs strengthened the product’s technical foundation.

For Cosmos AI, NEC X became more than an accelerator—it became a catalyst.

Building the Future of Financial Infrastructure

For Cosmos AI, collections is just the starting point.

The near-term focus is on improving negotiation—making AI interactions more empathetic, context-aware, and effective in reaching win-win outcomes.

At the same time, the team is advancing predictive intelligence to ensure outreach happens at the right moment, through the right channel.

But the long-term vision is far broader:

“We’re building toward becoming the AI-powered operating system for financial institutions,” says Michael.

Despite advances in digital banking, many core operations—collections, servicing, compliance—remain manual and outdated.

Cosmos AI aims to change that by building the intelligent infrastructure that powers these workflows.

To learn more about Cosmos AI, visit: https://trycosmos.ai