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Rishi Khosla is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, investor, and the CEO and co-founder of OakNorth Bank.
Rishi Khosla is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and investor. He is the CEO and co-founder of leading financial technology company, OakNorth, which is focused on helping SMEs scale.
This vision led Rishi to build his first business, Copal Partners (which later became Copal Amba) in 2002 with his business partner, Joel Perlman. Together, they grew the business to 3,000 employees across 11 markets, before selling it to Moody’s Corporation in 2014.
In 2015, they launched OakNorth with the aim of empowering high-growth businesses struggling to access fast, flexible finance, what OakNorth calls the ‘Missing Middle’. OakNorth developed ON Credit Intelligence to transform commercial banking, making it more granular, data-driven and forward-looking. The neobank, which began as an entrepreneurial vision, has supported the creation of tens of thousands of new jobs across the UK, and is helping tackle the UK’s housing crisis through supporting the development of tens of thousands of new social and affordable homes.
Rishi promotes the culture of entrepreneurship through his involvement in initiatives such as a ‘Mentorpreneurship’ Programme, in partnership with the London School of Economics.
Through his family foundation, Rishi and Milan Khosla Foundation, he supports work to nurture agency, creativity, and curiosity in early childhood development that will enable people to unleash their potential later in life, as well as supporting medical research into rare diseases, and initiatives which support female empowerment.
Rishi is an early-stage investor in Paypal and Indiabulls, with other investments including About Energy (battery technology), Spiracheck (biotech), and Xometry (3D printing and manufacturing).
Rishi was educated at Merchant Taylors' School (1987-1992) and holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from University College London, and a Master's in Accounting & Finance from the London School of Economics, where he was awarded a scholarship by the Economic and Social Research Council.
After leaving the LSE, he started his career in banking at ABN Amro, before joining GE Capital’s London-based business development group in 1999. Here he focused on mergers and acquisitions. During his tenure, he established an early-stage tech venture fund for GE Capital, which he co-managed. He subsequently joined the family office of steel baron Lakshmi Mittal, the current president and CEO of ArcelorMittal, to manage their venture capital and private equity investments.
Rishi was one of the co-founders of Copal Amba along with his LSE classmate Joel Perlman. Copal Amba was an outsourced research company for investment banks, which was acquired by Moody's Corporation in 2014. In mid-2008, Copal Amba was ranked the Number One Investment Research and Analytics KPO in Brown and Wilson Group's annual 'Black Book of Outsourcing 2008'.
Rishi and Joel have since founded OakNorth Holdings, a fintech firm focused on unlocking the potential in bespoke SME lending globally using its data and technology platform, OakNorth.
OakNorth Holdings has attracted over $1bn from several investors, including Clermont Group, Coltrane, EDBI of Singapore, GIC, Indiabulls, NIBC, Toscafund, and SoftBank Vision Fund. In its most recent round in February 2019 led by SoftBank Vision Fund, it was valued at $2.8bn.
Rishi believes that entrepreneurs are the real drivers of innovation, social progress, and economic growth, and that everyone can prosper by adopting an entrepreneurial mindset.
Rishi Khosla envisions a world where bespoke SME lending is unlocked globally through the power of data and technology. With a strong educational background in economics and finance, Rishi's vision is centered around leveraging innovative solutions to empower small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to reach their full potential.
Having co-founded OakNorth Holdings, Rishi aims to revolutionize the financial landscape by providing tailored lending solutions that cater to the unique needs of SMEs. Through the company's data and technology platform, OakNorth, he envisions a future where businesses can access the capital they require to thrive and expand.
