nice catch. made me look and found:
https://techcrunch.com/2021/10/14/tala-grabs-145m-to-offer-m…
The PayPal-backed company says it wants to develop the first mass-market crypto product for emerging markets and making crypto affordable to its users. Then, Tala plans to use blockchain-based finance to refine its capital market strategy and connect investors and borrowers on the Tala platform.
Upstart and the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), two investors in the round, are critical to this next phase of growth for Tala. An AI lending platform, Upstart has assisted banks and credit unions originate more than $13 billion worth of loans. At the same time, SDF — the nonprofit arm of the Stellar network — leverages interoperability with the world’s existing financial systems.
“For us, it really kind of matches both things. One is continuing to refine and become even better in terms of our credit offerings,” said Siroya. “And then the other side is really thinking about how do we accelerate this experience and leverage crypto with these platforms.”
Following the announcement, Paul Gu, the co-founder of Upstart and Denelle Dixon, the executive director and CEO of the Stellar Development Foundation, will join Tala’s board of directors.