This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws about us and our industry, which statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or our future financial or operating performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “seek,” “could,” “intend,” “target,” “aim,” “project,” “contemplate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” or “continue,” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions that concern our expectations, strategy, plans, or intentions. Forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K include statements about:

We caution you that the foregoing list may not contain all of the forward-looking statements made in this report.

Neither we nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. Moreover, the forward-looking statements made in this report relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this report to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this report or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. Undue reliance should not be placed on our forward-looking statements as we may not actually achieve the plans, intentions, or expectations disclosed in our forward-

In addition, statements that “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this report, and while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain, and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements.

Each of the terms the “Company,” “we,” “our,” “us” and similar terms used herein refer collectively to Upstart Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless otherwise stated.

We are a leading, cloud-based AI lending marketplace. AI lending enables a superior loan product with improved economics that can be shared between consumers and lenders. Our lending marketplace aggregates consumer demand for high-quality loans and connectsWe’re dedicated to our network of Upstart AI-enabled bank and credit union partners, collectively our “lending partners”. Consumers on our platform benefit from higher approval rates, lower interest rates, and a highly automated, efficient, all-digital experience. Our lending partners benefit fromimproving access to new customers, lower fraud and loss rates, and increased automation throughout the lending process.

Our AI models are provided to lending partners within a consumer-facing cloud application that streamlines the end-to-end process of originating and servicing a loan. We have built a configurable, multi-tenant cloud application designed to integrate seamlessly into a lender’s existing technology systems. Our highly configurable marketplace allows each lender to define its own credit policy and determine the significant parameters of its lending program. Our AI models use and analyze data from all ofconnects consumers with our lending partners. As a result, these models are trained by every Upstart-powered loan, and each lending partner benefits from participating in a shared AI lending marketplace.

Loans issued through our lending marketplace can beare retained by our originating lending partners, sold topurchased by our broad basenetwork of institutional investors, and buyers that invest in Upstart-powered loans or funded by Upstart’s balance sheet. Investors may also invest in securities collateralized by Upstart-powered loans through our pass-through and securitization programs.

As of December 31, 2023, out of the total principal of loan originations facilitated on our marketplace in 2023, 48% were purchased by institutional investors, 32% were retained by our lending partners, 16% were held on our balance sheet, and the remaining 4% were contributed as collateral to the securitization transaction completed in July 2023, which we have consolidated in our financial statements. In the year ended December 31, 2022, 30% of the loans funded through2023, our platform were retained by the originating lenders, 60% of loans were purchased by institutional investors through our loan funding programs and the remaining 10% were funded through our balance sheet. Our institutional investors and buyers that participate in our loan funding programs invest in Upstart-powered loans through whole loan purchases, purchases of pass-through certificates and investments in asset-backed securitizations. A large fraction of the whole loans sold to institutional investors under our loan funding programs aretop three lending partners originated by Cross River Bank, or CRB. In the year ended December 31, 2022, CRB originated 51%80% of the loans facilitated onthrough our platformmarketplace and fees received from CRB accountedthese

Our revenue is primarily comprised of fees paid by lending partners.partners and institutional investors. We charge our lending partners platform and referral fees at origination and loan servicing fees as consumers repay their loans. Ourthe agreements with our lending partners are nonexclusive and may contain minimum fee amounts. We also earn loan servicing revenue from contracts with lending partners and institutional investors. As a usage-based platform, we target positive unit economics on each transaction, leading to a cash efficient business model that enableswith high margins. We believe these are the key components to achieve both high growth rates and profitability.profitability over time.

Variables in our AI models have increased from 23 in 2014 to more than 1,500 variables, which are analogous1,600 as of December 31, 2023. These include factors related to the columns in a spreadsheet. Theycredit experience, employment, educational history, bank account transactions, cost of living and loan application interactions. As of December 31, 2023, our models have been trained byon more than 44.458 million repayment events, analogousadding an average of 83,000 new repayment events each business day. Upstart's models benefit from an exponentially growing dataset of repayment observations, allowing them to rows of data in a spreadsheet.detect subtle patterns that drive loan-level default and prepayment risk.

While our first model focused on predicting the likelihood of loan default, we have since applied models throughout the process of credit origination. These models quantify and reduce risk in various ways, while also increasing automation and funnel conversion.

The currently active AI models within the Upstart platform—shared by and available to all Upstart’s AI Modelslending partners—include:

Despite their sophistication, our AI models are delivered to lending partners in the form of a simple cloud application that shields borrowers from the underlying complexity. Additionally, our platform allows lending partners to tailor lending applications based on their policies and business needs. Our lending partners can configure many aspects of their lending programs, including factors such as loan duration, loan amount, minimum credit score, maximum debt-to-income ratio and return target by risk grade. Within the construct of each lender’s self-defined lending program, our platform enables the origination of conforming and compliant loans at a low per-loan cost.

On the consumer side, we have built a mobile-responsive web application to aggregate demand on Upstart.com, where consumers are presented with lender-brandedlender-backed offers from our lending partners. In this way, we benefit lenders who have adopted our AI lending technology. Lending partnersConsumers can quickly and easily inquire about a rate, evaluate and choose a loan offer, provide necessary information for verification and review required disclosures before final acceptance of the loan. A similar experience is also offer Upstart-powered loans throughoffered as a branded interfaceproduct on their own website or mobile application. Consumers on our platform are generally offered unsecured personal and secured auto loans ranging from $200 to $100,000 in size, at APRs typically ranging from approximately 6.7% to 35.99%, with terms typically ranging from three to seven years, with a monthly repayment schedule and no prepayment penalty.

On the loan funding side, we target a wide range of small, medium, and large lending partners with an appetite to invest in improved underwriting and digital originations. Because AI is a new and disruptive technology, and lending is a traditionally conservative industry, we have brought our technology to the market in a way that allows us to grow responsibly and improve our AI models, while allowing lenders to take a prudent approach to assessing and adopting our platform. As of December 31, 2023, we had more than 100 lending partners. Our platform is designedlending partners retain loans that align with their business and risk objectives. Because lenders vary with respect to program objectives, risk tolerance and funding capacity, program parameters can vary significantly across different lenders. Lending partners have access to an administrative interface for reporting and program management. We also perform fairness testing on our models to help satisfy lending partners’ regulatory obligations.

Our cloud-based software platform incorporates modern technologies and software development approaches to allow for rapid development of new features.

Our information security program governs how we safeguard the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our consumer and lending partner data. Our environment is continuously monitored with a suite of tools designed to detect and respond to security events in both internal and user-facing systems. We have a robust secure software development cycle and regularly engage with third parties to audit our security program and to perform regular penetration tests of our Web application and cloud environment.

Our multi-tenant architecture enables multiple lending partners to use the same version of our application while securely segmenting their data. Though all tenants are using the same version of our platform, our software is designed to be highly configurable to meet the needs of our diverse lending partners, allowing customizations to everything from the applicant user interface to the core rules governing credit decisioning.

In order to support innovation in our underwriting, fraud detection and acquisition models, we have developed proprietary technologies to enable our machine learning team to develop, train, test and deploy new model updates with minimal engineering support. Our backend systems are designed to flexibly integrate with multiple third-party data sources to feed these models and support real-time decisioning.

Our user interface is responsive to ensure applicants and borrowers have a smooth experience regardless of whether they are accessing our website from a desktop, mobile device or tablet.

Our reporting APIsapplication programming interfaces (“APIs”) provide institutional investors and lending partners the ability to access data through a programmatic interface. Our integration capabilities with lending partners include an ability to pre-fill applicant information via API and provide loan details in real-time to facilitate a seamless process from application to origination. Our lending partner reporting portal provides our lending partners with a centralized console to view real time performance metrics of their lending program, view and verify their credit policy and program configuration, and on-demand access to operational reports and documents.

Our growth and marketing approach is driven by the strength of our product and the interest rates we offer. While many lenders see consumer choice as a detractor from sales volume, we benefit when consumers compare our offers to other lenders’ offers. Over time, our ability to offer lower rates than our competitors has improved significantly. Because our model changes in real time, we are able to extend new offer loansloan offers to applicants who were previously not eligible or were previously quoted a higher rate.

Our growth and marketing initiatives are primarily focused on bringing potential borrowers to Upstart.com, where they can learn if they qualify for a loan from one of our lending partners and the terms of the loan offer in only a few minutes. Our customer acquisition channels combine a mix of online and offline, as well as paid and unpaid, channels. While we constantly experiment to expand and optimize our acquisition strategies, our largest channels include:

We have developed sophisticated tools that our internal operations team uses to support the origination and servicing of credit. While verification is primarily and increasingly handled by our software and AI models, we also offer Upstart-designed tools to guide credit analysts and fraud specialists in cases where our software is not yet able to sufficiently verify borrower information. By providing a prescriptive and unique path for each applicant, our system helps our operations team provide a streamlined experience for as many borrowers as possible.

While verification is primarily and increasingly handled by our software and AI models, we also offer Upstart-designed tools to guide credit analysts and fraud specialists in cases where our software is not yet able to sufficiently verify borrower information. By providing a prescriptive and unique path for each applicant, our system helps our operations team provide a streamlined experience for as many borrowers as possible.

This team focuses on the minority of borrowers whose applications are not entirely automated or any applicant who has questions or issues throughout the application process. While 25% of Upstart-powered loans involve human processing,process, while expediting the vast majority of these loans are not fraudulent. Thus, our team focuses on expediting applicants through theapproval process to the extent possible, and appropriate, while identifying and rejecting fraudulent applications. Our operations team works closely with our engineering and machine learning teams to further increase our levels of automation.

Most prospective borrowers and applicants interact with Upstart via our online platform and help center, but we also make agent-based support readily available to all borrowers. For phone support, we partner with external call center vendors and have a team of dedicated Upstart agents with specialized training.

Upstart-powered loans are serviced via our homegrown platform. For borrowers who miss payments, we focus on early intervention and attempt to reach them via emails, calls, texts, and mail to help bring their account current or offer hardship options in accordance with ourthe creditor’s servicing policies. Borrowers on our platform are supported via a combination of internal payments specialists and third-party service providers.

We hold collections licenses in the majority of states and conduct some first-party collections activities. We also partner with third-party agencies for collections, especially for accounts more than 30 days past due. Debt collection calls and collection performance are reviewed regularly by our quality assurance or vendor management teams. Our operations and compliance teams each also perform vendor onsite audits annually.

Consumer lending is a vast and competitive market, and we compete in varying degrees with all other sources of unsecured consumer credit, including banks, non-bank lenders (including retail-based lenders) and other financial technology lending platforms. Because personal loans often serve as a replacement for credit cards, we also compete with the convenience and ubiquity that credit cards represent.

On the lending partnership side, we compete with a variety of technology companies that aim to help lenders with the digital transformation of their business, particularly with respect to all-digital lending. This includes new products from legacy lending technology providers as well as newer companies focused entirely on lending software infrastructure for lenders. We may also face competition from lenders or companies that have not previously competed in the consumer lending market, including companies with large and experienced machine learning teams and access to vast amounts of consumer-related information that could be used in the development of their own credit risk models.

We and the loans made through our platform by our lending partners are subject to extensive and complex rules and regulations and examination by various federal, state and local government authorities. Failure to comply with any of the applicable rules and regulations may result in, among other things, revocation of required licenses or registration, loss of approved status, effective voiding or rescission of the loan contracts, class action lawsuits, administrative enforcement actions and civil and criminal liability. While compliance with such requirements is at times complicated by our novel business model, we believe we are, at a minimum, in substantial compliance with these rules and regulations.

We are currently, and expect in the future, to be regulatedsubject to laws and regulations administered by the CFPB. In addition to the CFPB, the Federal Trade Commission has jurisdiction to investigate aspects of our business, including with respect to marketing practices. Other state and federal agencies, including prudential bank regulators and state attorneys

Below, we summarize several of the material federal lending, servicing and related laws applicable to our business. Many states have laws and regulations that are similar to the federal consumer protection laws referred to below, but the degree and nature of such laws and regulations vary from state to state.

The Truth in Lending Act, or TILA, and Regulation Z, which implements it, require creditors to provide consumers with uniform, understandable information concerning certain terms and conditions of their loan and credit transactions, and to comply with certain lending practice requirements and restrictions. These rules apply to loans facilitated through our platform as well as to retail installment contracts purchased by Upstart from automotive dealerships, and we assist with compliance as part of the services we provide to our lending partners. For closed-end credit transactions, required disclosures include, among others, providing the annual percentage rate, the finance charge, the amount financed, the number of payments, the amount of the monthly payment, the presence and amount of certain fees, and the presence of certain contractual terms. For retail installment contracts, required disclosures can also include certain conditions related to Guaranteed Asset Protection waivers. For HELOCs, required open-end disclosures are provided during the origination process and servicing requirements under TILA are fulfilled by a third party servicer. TILA also regulates the advertising of credit and gives borrowers, among other things, certain rights regarding updated disclosures and the treatment of credit balances. We, on behalf of the applicable lending partner, provide applicants with a TILA disclosure when applicants complete their loan applications on our platform. If the applicant’s request is not fully funded and the applicant chooses to accept a lesser amount offered, we provide an updated TILA disclosure on behalf of the applicable lending partner. We also seek to comply with TILA’s disclosure requirements related to credit advertising and, to the extent that we hold or service loans, TILA’s requirements related to treatment of credit balances for closed-end loans. We also can facilitate the origination of a limited number of credit card accounts through our platform. In connection with such accounts, TILA requires the provision of certain solicitation and account-opening disclosures. TILA also imposes requirements on the terms of credit card accounts, and the process of originating and servicing such accounts. Though our platform may facilitate the origination of credit card accounts by a lending partner, we do not originate or service such accounts at this time.

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act, or ECOA, prohibits creditors from discriminating against credit applicants on the basis of race, color, sex, age (provided that the applicant has the capacity to enter into a binding contract), religion, national origin, marital status, the fact that all or part of the applicant’s income derives from any public assistance program, or the fact that the applicant has in good faith exercised any right under the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act or certain state laws. Regulation B, which implements ECOA, prohibits discrimination based on age, gender, ethnicity, nationality, or marital status, and restricts creditors from requesting certain types of information from loan applicants or engaging in certain loan-related practices, and from using advertising or making statements that would discourage on a prohibited basis a reasonable person from making or pursuing an application. These requirements apply to lending partners for loans facilitated through our platform, for automotive dealerships selling retail installment contracts, as well as to us as a service provider that assists in the process.process and as a loan originator for our HELOC product. We abide by policies and procedures implemented by our lending partners to comply with ECOA’s provisions prohibiting discouragement and discrimination. ECOA also requires creditors to provide applicants with timely notices of adverse action taken on credit applications, including disclosing to applicants who have been declined their rights and the reason for their having been declined.the denial. On behalf of our lending partners, we provide prospective borrowers who apply for a loan through our platform but are denied credit with an adverse action notice in compliance with applicable requirements.

The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, or FCRA, as amended by the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, implemented by Regulation V, and administered by the CFPB, promotes the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of information in the files of consumer reporting agencies. FCRA requires a permissible purpose to obtain a consumer credit report and requires that persons who report loan payment information to credit bureaus do so accurately and to resolve disputes regarding reported information timely. FCRA also imposes disclosure requirements on creditors who take adverse action on credit applications based on information contained in a credit report.

Under FCRA, certain information must be provided to applicants whose credit applications are not approved on the basis of a report obtained from a consumer reporting agency, promptly update any credit information reported to a credit reporting agency about a customer and have a process by which customers may inquire about credit information furnished by us to a consumer reporting agency. We, and our lending partners and the automotive dealerships with whom we partner have a permissible purpose for obtaining credit reports on potential borrowers, and we also obtain explicit consent from borrowers to obtain such reports. As part of our loan servicing activities, we accurately report loan payment and delinquency information to appropriate consumer reporting agencies.agencies on behalf of our lending partners. We provide an adverse action notice to a rejected applicants on behalf of each lending partner on our platform at the time the applicant is rejected that includes all the required disclosures. We also have processes in place to ensure that consumers are given “opt-out” opportunities, as required by the FCRA, regarding the sharing of their personal information. We have also implemented an identity theft prevention program, as required by FCRA and its implementing regulations.

The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, and Regulation F that implements FDCPA, provides guidelines and limitations on the conduct of certain debt collectors in connection with the collection of consumer debts. The FDCPA limits certain communications with third parties, imposes notice and debt validation requirements, and prohibits threatening, harassing or abusive conduct in the course of debt collection. While the FDCPA primarily applies to third-party debt collectors, debt collection laws of certain states impose similar requirements more broadly on creditors who collect their own debts.debts and loan servicers of debt. In addition, the CFPB prohibits unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices, or UDAAPs, in debt collection, including first-party debt collection. We use our internal collection team, except for the HELOC product, and professional third-party debt collection agents to collect delinquent accounts. Any third-party debt collection agents we use are required to comply with the FDCPA and all other applicable laws in collecting delinquent accounts of borrowers. While our internal servicing team is not subject to the formal requirements of the FDCPA in most cases, we have established policies intended to substantially comply with the collection practice requirements under the FDCPA as a means of complying with more general UDAAP standards.

The federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, or GLBA, includes limitations on financial institutions’ disclosure of nonpublic personal information about a consumer to nonaffiliatednon-affiliated third parties, in certain circumstances requires financial institutions to limit the use and further disclosure of nonpublic personal information by nonaffiliatednon-affiliated third parties to whom they disclose such information and requires financial institutions to disclose certain privacy policies

In July 2010, the Dodd-Frank Act was signed into law. The Dodd-Frank Act is extensive and significant legislation that includes consumer protection provisions. Among other things, the Dodd-Frank Act created the CFPB, which commenced operations in July 2011 and has significant authority to implement and enforce federal consumer financial laws, such as the TILA and the ECOA. The CFPB is authorized to prevent “unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices” through its regulatory, supervisory and enforcement authority. The CFPB also engages in consumer financial education, requests data and promotes the availability of financial services to underserved customers and communities. The CFPB has regulatory and enforcement powers over most providers of consumer financial products and services through the laws it enforces, including us. It also has supervisory and examination powers over certain providers of consumer financial products and services, including large banks, payday lenders, “larger participants” in certain financial services markets defined by CFPB regulation, and non-bank entities determined to present a risk to consumers after notice and an opportunity to respond.

The CFPB has imposed, and will continue to impose, restrictions on lending practices, including with respect to the terms of certain loans. We and our lending partners are subject to the CFPB’s enforcement authority. The CFPB may request reports concerning our organization, business conduct, markets and activities. In addition, the CFPB may, in connection with its supervisory authority, also conduct on-site examinations of our and our lending partners’ businesses on a periodic basis, subject to whether the applicable lending partner satisfies the assets threshold for CFPB supervision. If the CFPB were to conclude that our loan origination assistance or servicing activities, or any loans originated by our lending partners on our platform, violate applicable laws or regulations, we could be subject to a formal or informal inquiry, investigation and/or enforcement action. Formal enforcement actions are generally made public. We are not currently subject to any enforcement actions by the CFPB.

The federal Electronic Fund Transfer Act, or EFTA, provides guidelines and restrictions on the electronic transfer of funds from consumers’ bank accounts. Under EFTA, and Regulation E that implements it, we must obtain consumer consents prior to receiving electronic transfer of funds from consumers’ bank accounts, and our lending partners may not condition an extension of credit on the borrower’s agreement to repay the loan through preauthorized (recurring) electronic fund transfers. In addition to compliance with federal laws, transfers performed by ACH electronic transfers are subject to detailed timing and notification rules and guidelines administered by the National Automated Clearinghouse Association, or NACHA. While NACHA guidelines are not laws, failure to comply with them may nevertheless result in commercial harm to our business. All transfers of funds related to our operations conform to the EFTA, its regulations and NACHA guidelines. As part of our servicing activities, we obtain necessary electronic authorization from borrowers and investors for such transfers in compliance with such rules. The loans offered on our platform by our lending partners must also comply with the requirement that a loan cannot be conditioned on the borrower’s agreement to repay the loan through recurring electronic fund transfers.

The federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, or ESIGN, and similar state laws, particularly the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, or UETA, authorize the creation of legally binding and enforceable agreements utilizing electronic records and signatures. ESIGN and UETA require businesses that want to use electronic records or signatures in consumer transactions and provide disclosures to get affirmative consent from consumers (otherwiseto receive or sign electronically any documents otherwise required by law to be “in writing” in electronic form), to obtain the consumer’s consent to receive information electronically.. When a consumer registers on our platform, we obtain his or her consent to transact business electronically, receive electronic disclosures and maintain electronic records in compliance with ESIGN and UETA requirements, and we maintain electronic signatures and records in a manner intended to support enforceability of relevant consumer agreements and consents.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or TCPA, and similar state laws, generally prohibits robocalls, including those calls made using an auto-dialer or prerecorded or artificial voice calls made to a wireless telephone without the prior express consent of the called party (or prior express written consent, if messages constitute telemarketing). In addition, the FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule implements the FTC’s Do-Not-Call Registry and imposes numerous other requirements and limitations in connection with telemarketing. Upstart’sOur policies address the requirements of the TCPA as well as FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule and other laws limiting telephone outreach. Furthermore, Upstart does not engage in certain activities covered by the TCPA, such as using an automated dialer.TCPA.

The Federal Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing, or CAN-SPAM, Act makes it unlawful to send certain electronic mail messages that contain false or deceptive information and provide other protections for email users. CAN-SPAM also requires the need to provide a functioning mechanism that allows the recipient to opt-out of receiving future commercial e-mail messages from the sender of such messages. Upstart’sOur email communications with all consumers are formulated to comply with the CAN-SPAM Act.

Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, or SCRA, and similar state laws, there are limits on interest rates chargeable to military personnel and civil judicial proceedings against them, and there are limitations on our ability to collect on a loan to servicemembers on active duty originated prior to the servicemember entering active duty status and, in certain cases, for a period of time thereafter. The ability to repossess a vehicle is also limited

Under the Military Lending Act, certain members of the armed forces serving on active duty and their dependents must be identified and be provided with certain protections when becoming obligated on a consumer credit transaction. These protections include: a limit on the Military Annual Percentage Rate (an all-in cost-of-credit measure which is the same as the APR for loans facilitated on our platform) of 36%, certain required disclosures before origination, a prohibition on charging prepayment penalties and a prohibition on arbitration agreements and certain other loan agreement terms. As part of the services we provide, we ensure compliance with the requirements of the Military Lending Act.

Under the Bank Secrecy Act, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act, or USA PATRIOT ACT, and certain U.S. sanctions laws, our lending partners are required to maintain anti-money laundering, customer due diligence and record-keeping policies and procedures, which we perform on behalf of our lending partners, and to avoid doing business with certain sanctioned persons or entities or certain types of sanctioned activity in certain countries. We have implemented an BSA/AML program, or AML program, designed to prevent our platform from being used to facilitate money laundering, terrorist financing, and other illicit activity. Our AML program is designed to prevent our platform from being used to facilitate business in countries, or with persons or entities, included on designated lists promulgated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Controls and equivalent foreign authorities. Our AML compliance program includes policies, procedures, reporting protocols, and internal controls, including the designation of an AML compliance officer, and is designed to address these legal and regulatory requirements and to assist in managing risk associated with money laundering and terrorist financing. With respect to new borrowers, we apply the customer identification and verification program rules and screen names against the list of specially designated nationals maintained by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, pursuant to the USA PATRIOT Act amendments to the Bank Secrecy Act and its implementing regulation.

The loans originated on our platform by our lending partners may be subject to state laws and regulations that impose requirements related to loan disclosures and terms, credit discrimination, credit reporting, debt collection, and unfair or deceptive business practices. The retail installment contracts we purchase are subject to state laws and regulations that impose requirements on contract disclosures and terms, credit discrimination, credit reporting, debt collection and repossession, and unfair or deceptive business practices. Our ongoing compliance program seeks to comply with these requirements.

We hold licenses, registrations, and similar filings so that we can conduct business, including providing referral services and origination assistance to lenders on our platform and servicing and collecting loans, and purchasing retail installment contracts, in all states and the District of Columbia where our activities require such licensure, registration or filing. We also hold licenses and registrations required by state laws or regulations to originate HELOCs in those states. With respect to our securitization trusts, we have a national bank that serves as our owner trustee and is itself exempt from licensure. Although we are not aware of a state taking the position that the trust itself needs licensure, it is possible that a state or states could take such position in the future. Licenses granted by the regulatory agencies in various states are subject to periodic renewal and may be revoked or suspended for failure to comply with applicable state and federal laws and regulations. In addition, as the product offerings of Upstart or our lending partners change, as states enact new licensing requirements or amend existing licensing laws or regulations, or as states regulators or courts adjust their interpretations of licensing statutes and regulations, we may be required to obtain additional licenses. To that end, we have a small number of applications submitted and pending to obtain additional licenses, particularly with respect to obtaining additional authorization to engage in student loan servicinghome lending and collection activities.the purchase of retail installment contracts. We are also typically required to complete an annual report (or its equivalent) to each state’s regulator. The statutes also typically subject us to the supervisory and examination authority of state regulators.

Upstart and certain of our subsidiaries have relied on Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act for placement of asset-backed securities directly to investors or to investment bank initial purchasers, which have relied on Rule

The Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, or IAA, contains substantive legal requirements that regulate the manner in which “investment advisers” are permitted to conduct their business activities. We believe that our business consists of providing a platform for consumer lending for which investment adviser registration and regulation does not apply under applicable federal or state law, and do not believe that we or any of our subsidiaries are required to register as an investment adviser with either the SEC or any of the various states.

We are not currently registered with the SEC as a broker-dealer under the Exchange Act or any comparable state law. The SEC heavily regulates the manner in which broker-dealers are permitted to conduct their business activities. We believe we have conducted, and we intend to continue to conduct, our business in a manner that does not result in Upstart being characterized as a broker-dealer, based on guidance published by the SEC and its staff.

Regulation RR was jointly issued by a group of federal agencies under section 15G of the Exchange Act, as well as under the Federal Reserve Act, section 8 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, the Home Owners’ Loan Act of 1933; section 165 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act; and the International Banking Act of 1978. Its purpose is to require securitizers to retain an economic interest in a portion of the credit risk of assets that the securitizer transfers or sells to an issuing entity and that collateralize asset-backed securities that are sold to a third party. We believe we have structured our organization such that we are in compliance with Regulation RR and will continue to conduct our business in a manner that allows us to remain in compliance with this regulation.

We review our policies and procedures to ensure compliance with applicable regulatory laws and regulations applicable to us and our lending partners. We have built our systems and processes with controls in place in order to permit our policies and procedures to be followed on a consistent basis. For example, to ensure proper controls are in place to maintain compliance with the consumer protection related laws and regulations, we have developed a compliance management system consistent with the regulatory expectations published by governmental agencies. While no compliance program can assure that there will not be violations, or alleged violations, of applicable laws, we believe that our compliance management system is reasonably designed and managed to minimize compliance-related risks.

We protect our intellectual property through a combination of patents, trademarks, domain names, copyrights and trade secrets, as well as through contractual provisions, our information security infrastructure and restrictions on access to or use of our proprietary technology. As of December 31, 2022,2023, we had two patents issued and onethree patent applicationapplications in the United States related to our proprietary risk model and data engineering. We may file additional patent applications or pursue additional patent protection in the future to the extent we believe it will be beneficial.

We have trademark rights in our name, our logo and other brand indicia, and have trademark registrations for select marks in the United States. We will pursue additional trademark registrations to the extent we believe it will be beneficial. We also have registered domain names for websites that we use in our business. We may be subject to third party claims from time to time with respect to our intellectual property.

We have built a very special company culture at Upstart. Building the best place for top talent to do great work has been a priority for us from day one. It is not an accident that we have received best place to work awards in both our San Mateo and Columbus locations. In spite of the macro-economic challenges we encountered in 2022 - from the macro-economic environment to the ongoing pandemic2023 - our employee engagement remains higher than our technology peers and retention of our top talent isare both strong.

We brought together a remarkable diversity of thinkers to build Upstart. Our co-founders and the members of our management team come from diverse backgrounds with varying ethnicities, education backgrounds, genders and ages. This diversity of thought ensures we tackle problems from all angles and arrive at the best solution for all stakeholders.

We attract and recruit diverse, exceptionally talented, highly educated, experienced and motivated employees. We have an extremely rigorous recruiting and employee candidate screening process. For example, our machine learning team, responsible for the development and constant improvement of our AI models, is unlike any other that we are aware of in the consumer lending space. The majority of the members of this team have doctorate degrees in statistics, mathematics, computer science, economics or physics and many have extensive past experience in quantitative finance.

Inclusion is not a standalone strategy atThe Upstart itculture is central to our talent advantage and thereforewe have carefully and thoughtfully built it underpinsas we have grown. Equity and inclusion underpin everything we do in the people programs we build. From our compensation practices to how we think about talent management and team development to the perks and benefits we invest in, we take a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens to each decision we make and every strategy we build.

Upstart employees are also passionate about building an environment that works for all. Over the last three years, we have invested heavily in growing our employee resource groups, and currently have nine employee led organizations designed to support employees in communities that matter to them. This includes our African American Employee Network, Catalyst (for our LGBTQ2IA+ community), LatinX, TAUUnidos, APU (for Asian American Upstarters), and most recently, a Veterans ERG, along with more than 20 clubs and special interest groups. Employees continue to host employee-led “lunch and learns” on topics ranging from startup financing, to how to fly a drone, to a salsa class taught by our Chief Compliance Officer.

As the pandemic raged on and work from home became an expectable norm,A few years ago, we shifted our talent location strategy to one that focused on “digital” work first. Employees in eligible roles (which comprise the majority of our full-time roles) can work from anywhere in the United States, including in one of our three offices in Austin, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; or San Mateo, California. However, to ensure we continue to build relationships and capture the

In addition to providing competitive benefits like fully paid health insurance, life insurance and disability, flexible time off for our salaried employees, and fully paid parental leave, we invest in benefits that will provide financial flexibility and financial wellness for our employees - we see this as central to our brand as an employer, and to attracting the types of employees that will be passionate about our mission to serve borrowers. We continue to provide flexible “wellness” and “productivity” budgets allowing our diverse population of employees to spend in ways that will be most useful for them. Inspired by our company mission, we also provide important traditional financial benefits like a 401(k) match (where we match 401(k) contributions up to a set dollar amount, ensuring

As of December 31, 2022,2023, we had 1,8751,388 full-time employees. We also engage temporary employees, contractors and consultants as needed to support our operations. None of our employees are represented by a labor union or subject to a collective bargaining agreement. We have not experienced any work stoppages, and we consider our relations with our employees to be good.

Upstart Network, Inc. was incorporated in Delaware in 2012. Pursuant to a restructuring, Upstart Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in December 2013 and became the holding company of Upstart Network, Inc. Our principal executive offices are located at 2950 S. Delaware Street, Suite 300,410, San Mateo, California 94403, and our telephone number is (650) 204-1000.(833) 212-2461. Our website address is www.upstart.com. The content of our websites and information that can be accessed through our websites is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K or in any other report or document we file with the SEC, and any references to our websites are intended to be inactive textual references only.

Our website is located at www.upstart.com and our investor relations website at ir.upstart.com. Copies of our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to these reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, are available free of charge on our investor relations website as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. The SEC also maintains a website that contains our SEC filings at www.sec.gov. The content of our websites and information that can be accessed through our websites is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K or in any other report or document we file with the SEC, and any references to our websites are intended to be inactive textual references only.

We announce material information to the public about us, our products and services and other matters through a variety of means, including filings with the SEC, press releases, public conference calls, webcasts, the investor relations section of our website (ir.upstart.com), in order to achieve broad, non-exclusionary distribution of information to the public and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD.

The material risks that may affect our business, financial condition or results of operations include, but are not limited to, those relating to the following:

We offer consumer loans, such as personal and auto loans, on our marketplace, and many consumers that come to our marketplace have poor, limited or no credit history. Such consumers have historically been, and may in the future be, disproportionately affected by adverse macroeconomic conditions. Inflation, higher interest rates, availability of welfare programs, unemployment, bankruptcy, government interventions, such as stimulus measures, major medical expenses, divorce or death may affect borrowers’ ability or willingness to borrow or make payments on loans. The recent macroeconomic trends have negatively impacted borrowers’ ability and willingness to borrow and make repayments. Such trends also have led to higher costs of borrowing on loans offered on our marketplace. While the costs of borrowing and risks associated with consumer lending have increased, the maximum annual percentage rate of Upstart-powered loans has been set and always has been less than 35.99% due to regulatory reasons. As a result, the pool of applicants that would qualify for a loan offer has become smaller, and fewer applicants have received or accepted loan offers than they have in the past. In a high interest rate environment, potential borrowers may also prefer to defer loans as they wait for interest rates to stabilize. These factors have and could continue to lower our loan origination volume.

We have recently experienced rapid growthreductions in capital to our marketplace due to the current macroeconomic environment, including rapidly rising interest rates, increased credit risk of consumers, recessionary concerns, and stress on banks’ balance sheets driven by bank failures in 2023. Our institutional investors have decreased their loan purchase volumes in light of the recent macroeconomic environment and have demanded a lower price and higher returns to cover the higher cost of funds and increased credit risks. A reduction in loan purchase volume and sale price has negatively impacted, and could continue to negatively impact, our revenue, operations and returns. Decreased funding from institutional investors, together with lower approvability of loan applicants, reduced loan origination volume on our marketplace, which has had and could continue to have a negative impact on our revenue. Any sustained decline in investor demand for Upstart-powered loans or securities secured by such loans, or any increase in delinquencies, defaults or losses beyond our expectation due to adverse economic conditions, may also reduce the price we receive on future loan sales.

Due to the adverse economic conditions and bank failures in 2023, the securitization markets in general have been constrained. We have experienced less demand for our asset-backed securities secured by Upstart-powered loans. Events of default or breaches of financial, performance or other covenants, or worse than expected performance of certain pools of loans underpinning our asset-backed securitizations, debt facilities or other structured and unstructured transactions, have limited in the past and could limit our access to funding from institutional investors. For example, the loans originated in 2021 through mid-2022 that were included in our asset-backed securitizations have underperformed relative to their expected target returns at the time of origination, resulting in negative rating agency actions in several of our asset-based securitizations. We cannot be certain if and when investor demand for securitizations will recover. Moreover, the funding arrangements that we have recently entered into during a high interest rate environment, such as the committed capital arrangements, may become more costly if interest rates fall and the terms of such arrangements remain through a full economic cycle.

We were founded in 2012 and have experienced rapid growth in the past.been a publicly traded company for a limited number of years. Our limited operating history may make it difficult to make accurate predictions about our future performance. Assessing our business and future prospects may also be difficult because of the risks and difficulties we face. These risks and difficulties include our ability to:

We grew rapidly in the past, and our historical revenue growth rate and financial performance may not be indicative of our future performance. Our revenue for any previous quarterly or annual periods should not be relied upon as any indication of our revenue or revenue growth in future periods.future. In fact, our revenue declined during the year ended December 31, 2022.2023. Our revenue may continue to decline in the future periods for a number of reasons, which may include: adverse macroeconomic conditions, changing interest rates, slowing demand for or reduced funding through our lending marketplace, offerings and services, sales of loans held on our balance sheet at a loss, increasing competition, credit market volatility, increasing regulatory costs and challenges and our failure to capitalize on growth opportunities.

We believe our growth in the past has beenwas driven in large part by our AI models and our continued improvements to our AI models. Future incremental improvements to our AI models may not lead to the same level of growth as they did in past periods.the past. In addition, we believe our past growth was driven in part by our ability to rapidly streamline and automate the loan application and origination process on our platform. We expect the Percentage of Loans Fully Automated to level off and remain relatively stable in the long term; however,term. However, the expansion of our loan offerings beyond unsecured personal loans, such as auto loans and home equity lines of credit, may cause fluctuations of such percentage from period to period depending on the loan offering mix. As a result of these factors, our revenue growth rates may further decline, and our financial performance may continue to be adversely affected.

Our quarterly results of operations, including the levels of our revenue, net income (loss) attributable to Upstart Holdings, Inc. common stockholders and other key metrics, are likely to vary significantly in the future, and period-to-period comparisons of our results of operations may not be meaningful. Accordingly, the results for any one quarter are not necessarily an accurate indication of future performance. Our quarterly financial results may fluctuate due to a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control. Factors that may cause fluctuations in our quarterly financial results include:include but are not limited to:

In addition, we typically experience seasonality in the demand for Upstart-powered loans, which is generally lower in the first quarter. This seasonal slowdown is primarily attributable to high loan demand around the holidays in the fourth quarter and the general increase in borrowers’ available cash flows in the first quarter, including cash received from tax refunds, which temporarily reduces borrowing needs. While recent government stimulus programs provided to individuals in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have obscured this seasonality in our overall financial results, we expect our results of operations to continue to be affected by such seasonality in the future because the COVID-19 government stimulus programs have ended. Such seasonality and other fluctuations in our quarterly results may also adversely affect and, increase the volatility of, the trading price of our common stock.

We have facilitated securitizations, and may in the future facilitate additional securitizations, of certain Upstart-powered loans to allow our institutional investors, certain of our lending partners whole loan purchasers, pass-through certificate buyers andand/or ourselves to liquidate or finance such loans through the asset-backed securities markets or through other capital markets products. In asset-backed securities transactions, we sell and convey pools of loans to a special purpose entity, or SPE. We likewise fund certain loans on our balance sheet by selling loans to warehouse trust SPEs which loan sales are partially financed withand drawing on the associated warehouse credit facilities from banks. Concurrently, eachfacilities. Each securitization SPE issues notes and/or certificates pursuant to the terms of indentures and trust agreements, or in the case of the warehouse credit facilities, the warehouse trust SPE borrows money from banks

When we are the proceeds from the salesole sponsor of securitizations, we are required under Regulation RR to retain at least five percent of the securities.credit risk in such transactions for a specific period of time, depending on the type of asset that is securitized. We have in the past and may choose to retain additional securities, such as notes or certificates, issued in asset-backed securitization transactions we sponsor or facilitate. The certificates represent residual equity interests in the SPEs and are subordinated to the notes and thus are exposed to greater credit risk. In 2023, we acted as a sole retaining sponsor to asset-backed securitizations and, in one instance, retained not only the securities required for risk retention purposes under Regulation RR, but also additional residual equity interests, in that they entitle the equity owners of such SPEs, includingexposing us if we are an equity owner in the relevant transaction, to a certain proportion of the residual cash flows, if any, from the loans and to any assets remaining in such SPEs. As a result of challenginggreater credit and liquidity conditions, the value

If it is not possible or economical for us to securitize loans in the future, we may need to seek alternative financing to support ourprovide loan funding programsto our marketplace and to meet our existing debt obligations. Such funding may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. If the cost of such loan funding mechanisms were to be higher than that of our securitizations the fair value of the loans would likely be reduced, whichit would negatively impact our results of operations. If we are unable to access such financing, our ability to originate loans and our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity may be materially adversely affected.

The gain on sale and related servicing fees generated by our whole loan sales,servicing activities for the loans sold to institutional investors and the servicing fees based on sales of asset-backed securities,contributed to asset-based securitizations and pass-through certificate transactions also represent a material portion of our earnings. We cannot assure youThere is no assurance that our loan purchasersinstitutional investors will continue to purchase loans or securities (either through whole loan sales, asset-backed securities, pass-through certificate issuances or asset-backed securities)other direct or indirect purchase arrangements) or that they will continue to purchase loans in transactions that generate the same spreads and/or fees that we have historically obtained. During the year ended December 31, 2022,2023, we sold loans that had been originated in an earlier, lower interest rate environment. We recognized losses on these sales which reduced our revenue. As we hold more loans on our balance sheet, or hold these loans for longer periods and interest rates rise, our business, financial condition and results of operation could be adversely affected, including further reductions in revenue. Factors that may affect loan purchaser demand by institutional investors for Upstart-powered loans include:

Cross River BankWe are also subject to risk that arises from our derivative instruments, beneficial interests, warehouse facilities, and onethird-party custodians. These activities generally involve an exchange of obligations with unaffiliated lenders or other individuals or entities, referred to in such transactions as “counterparties”. If a counterparty were to default or otherwise fail to perform, we could potentially be exposed to loss if such counterparty were unable to meet its obligations to us, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Cross River Bank, or CRB,Our top three lending partners originate a New Jersey-chartered community bank, originates a majoritysignificant portion of the loans on our platform.marketplace. In the yearsyear ended December 31, 2021 and 2022, CRB2023, our top three lending partners collectively originated 55% and 51%, respectively,80% of the Transaction Volume, Number of Loans. CRB also accounts for a large portion of our revenues. In the years ended December 31, 2021Loans and 2022, fees received from CRB accounted for 56% and 45%, respectively,63% of our total revenue. CRB retains a proportion of the loans they originate on their own balance sheet, and sells the remainder of the loans to us, which we in turn sell to institutional investors, sell to our warehouse trust special purpose entities or retain on our balance sheet. Our most recent commercial arrangement with CRB began on January 1, 2019 and has a term of four years with an automatic renewal provision for an additional two years following the initial four-year term. Either party may choose to not renew by providing the other party 120 days’ notice prior to the end of the initial term or any renewal term. In addition, even during the term of our arrangement, CRB could choose to reduce the volume of Upstart-powered loans that it choosesThere are no minimum commitments to originate and/or retain on its balance sheet. We or CRB may terminateany loans under the agreements we have with our arrangement immediately upon a material breach by the other party and failure to cure such breach within a cure period, if any representations or warranties are found to be false and such error is not cured within a cure period, bankruptcy or insolvency of either party, receipt of an order or judgment by a governmental entity, a material adverse effect, or a change of control whereby such party involved in such change of control provides 90 days’ notice to the other and payment of a termination fee of $450,000.lending partners. If we are unable to continue to increase the number of other lending partners on our platform or if CRB or one of our othertop three lending partners were to suspend, limit or cease their operations or otherwise terminate their relationship with us, our business, financial condition and results of operations would be adversely affected. As of December 31, 2023, we had more than 100 lending partners participating on our marketplace, and we continue to expand our lending partnerships to new participants. If we are unable to continue to increase the participation by other lending partners on our marketplace, we will continue to be reliant on a small number of lending partners for a significant portion of loan originations and revenue, which could harm our business.

In both2020, we entered into an agreement with the NAACP Legal Defense Education Fund, the LDF, and the Student Borrower Protection Center, the SBPC, to participate in fair lending reviews of our AI underwriting models by an independent third-party firm, Relman Colfax LLC, or Relman. The fair lending testing was designed to determine if our AI underwriting models have caused or resulted in a disparate impact on any protected class, and if so, whether there are any alternative, less discriminatory practices without sacrificing the models’ predictiveness. Following a number of quantitative assessments, Relman has published three periodic reports and plans to publish a fourth and final report that summarizes the development during the monitorship as well as industry recommendations. While we have input on Relman’s reports and the agreement provides that Relman and the parties to the agreement will collaborate to reach agreement on any recommendations, we may disagree with Relman, the LDF or the SBPC regarding the contents of the reports or particular recommendations that were made, the manner in which they should be implemented, if at all, or whether they would maintain the predictiveness of our AI models or meet any other legitimate business needs of Upstart. If we do not implement Relman’s recommendations, the LDF and/or the SBPC could terminate the agreement with us. If Relman’s reports are viewed negatively for any reason, or Relman terminates its agreement with us and/or the agreement with the LDF and/or the SBPC is terminated for any reason, our brand and reputation and the overall market acceptance of, and trust in, our AI lending marketplace could suffer, and we could be subject to increased regulatory and litigation risk. In addition, the publication of information arising from our agreement with the LDF or the SBPC, including the reports published by Relman, could lead to additional regulatory scrutiny for our lending partners.

Our success depends in part on our loan servicing and collection efforts. In the year ended December 31, 2021 and 2022, one other lending partner originated 36% of the Transaction Volume, Number of Loans. In the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2022, the fees received from this lending partner accounted for 27% and2023, 28% of our total revenue respectively.was generated from loan servicing fees. The vast majority of Upstart-powered loans are not secured by any collateral, guaranteed or insured by any third party or backed by any governmental authority. As a result, we are limited in our ability to collect on such loans on behalf of our lending partners and institutional investors if a borrower is unwilling or unable to repay them. Where the loan is secured by an automobile, we could still be limited in our ability to collect on the loan if we cannot secure the automobile. The ability to collect on the loans is largely dependent on the borrower’s continuing financial stability, and consequently, collections can be adversely affected by a number of factors, including, but not limited to, unemployment, divorce, death, illness, bankruptcy or the economic or social factors beyond personal circumstances of a borrower. In addition, the application of various federal and state laws, including federal and state bankruptcy and insolvency laws, may limit the amount that can be recovered on these loans. It is possible that a higher percentage of consumers will seek protection under bankruptcy or debtor relief laws as a result of the current inflationary environment, the possibility of a recession and market volatility. Federal, state, or other restrictions could impair our ability to collect amounts owed and due on the loans facilitated through our marketplace, reduce income received from the loans facilitated through our marketplace, or negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our sales and onboarding process with new lending partners can be long, vary widely and generally takes approximately two to twelve months. As a result, revenues and results of operations may vary significantly from period to period. Prospective lending partners are often cautious in making decisions to implement our platform and related services because of the risk management alignment and regulatory uncertainties related to their use of our AI models, including their oversight, model governance and fair lending compliance obligations associated with using such models. In addition, prospective lending partners undertake an extensive diligence review of our platform, compliance and servicing activities before choosing to partner with us. Further, the implementation of our AI lending model often involves shifts by the lending partner to a new software platform or changes in their operational procedures, which may involve significant time and expense to implement. Delays in onboarding new lending partners can also arise while prospective lending partners complete their internal procedures to approve expenditures and test and accept our applications. Consequently, we face difficulty predicting the quarter in which new lending

We have introduced auto loan, and small dollar loan, and home equity lines of credit products and are continuing to invest in developing these products and other new loan products and service offerings, such as mortgages.offerings. New initiatives are inherently risky, as each involves unproven business strategies, new regulatory requirements and new financial products and services with which we, and in some cases our lending partners, have limited or no prior development or operating experience.

We cannot be sure that we will be able to develop, commercially market and achieve market acceptance of any new products and services. In addition, our investment of resources to develop new products and services may either be insufficient or result in expenses that are excessive in light of revenue actually derived from these new products and services. It is also possible that such investment of resources may need to be delayed or deferred, as was the case with respect to ourthe small business loan product when we decided to suspend its development in January 2023 due to the adverse macroeconomic conditions affecting our business at that time. We may also have difficulty with securing adequate loan funding for new loan products and services, and if we are unable to do so, our ability to develop and grow these new offerings and services will be impaired. If the profile of borrowers using any new products and services is different from that of those currently served by ourthe existing loan products offered on our marketplace, our AI models may not be able to accurately evaluate the credit risk of such borrowers, and our lending partners and institutional investors in ourwe may not be able to obtain loan funding programs mayfor new products and services on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. Moreover, it is possible that a new product in turn experienceits development stage has a higher levelslevel of delinquencies or defaults.defaults than a more established product as our AI models calibrate to a potentially different set of data. Failure to accurately predict demand or growth with respect to our new products and services could have an adverse impact on our reputation and business, and there is always risk that new products and services will be unprofitable, will increase our costs, decrease operating margins or take longer than anticipated to achieve target margins. In addition, any new products or services may raise new and potentially complex regulatory compliance obligations, which would increase our costs and may cause us to change our business in unexpected ways. Further, our development efforts with respect to these initiatives could distract management from current operations and will divert capital and other resources from our existing business.

We operate in an industry in which integrity and the confidence of our borrowers and lending partners is of critical importance. Our business depends on our employees, vendors, and service providers to process a large number of increasingly complex transactions, including transactions that involve significant dollar amounts and loan transactions that involve the use and disclosure of personal and business information. We are thus exposed to the risk of misconduct and errors by our employees, vendors, and other service providers that could adversely affect our business, including employees, vendors, or service providers taking, converting, or misusing funds, documents, or data, or failing to follow applicable laws and regulations or our internal policies or protocol when interacting with consumers and borrowers. It is not always possible to identify and deter misconduct or errors by employees, vendors, or service providers, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses. There have been numerous highly-publicized cases of fraud and other misconduct by financial services industry employees. IfWe have experienced employee misconduct and may continue to do so in the future. Depending on the severity, any of our employees, vendors or service providers engage in illegal, improper, or suspicious activity or other misconduct weby our employees, vendors or service providers could sufferresult in serious harm to our reputation, financial condition, relationships with lending partners and borrowers, and our ability to attract new lending partners or borrowers. We could also be perceived to have facilitated or participated in the illegal misappropriation of funds, documents, or data, or the failure to follow protocol, and therefore be subject to civil or criminal liability. Any of these occurrences could result in our diminished ability to operate our business, inability to attract future borrowers or lending partners, reputational damage, regulatory intervention, and financial harm, which could negatively impact our business, results of operations, financial condition, and future prospects.

The consumer lending market is highly competitive and increasingly dynamic as emerging technologies continue to enter into the marketplace. With the introduction of new technologies and the influx of new entrants, competition may persist and intensify in the future, which could have an adverse effect on our operations or business.

Our inability to compete effectively could result in reduced loan volumes, reduced average size of loans facilitated on our platform,marketplace, reduced fees, increased marketing and borrower acquisition costs or the failure of the Upstart platformmarketplace to achieve or maintain more widespread market acceptance, any of which could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Consumer lending is a vast and competitive market, and we compete to varying degrees with all other sources of unsecured consumer credit. This can include banks, non-bank lenders including retail-based lenders and other financial technology lending platforms. Because personal loans often serve as a replacement for credit cards, we also compete with the convenience and ubiquity that credit cards represent. Many of our competitors operate with different business models, such as lending-as-a-service, have different funding sources, have different cost structures or regulatory obligations, or participate selectively in different market segments. They may ultimately prove more successful or more adaptable to new regulatory, economic, technological and other developments, including utilizing new data sources or credit models. We may also face competition from banks or companies that have not previously competed in the consumer lending market, including companies with access to vast amounts of

Our industry is driven by constant innovation. We utilize artificial intelligence and machine learning, which is characterized by extensive research efforts and rapid technological progress. If we fail to anticipate or respond adequately to technological developments, our ability to operate profitably could suffer. There can be no assurance that research, data accumulation and development by other companies will not result in AI models that are superior to our AI models or result in products superior to those we develop or that any technologies, products or services we develop will be preferred to any existing or newly-developed technologies, products or services. If we are unable to compete with such companies or fail to meet the need for innovation in our industry, the use of the Upstart platformour technology could stagnate or substantially decline, or our loan productsAI lending marketplace could fail to maintain or achieve more widespread market acceptance, which could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our business is heavily concentrated in U.S. consumer credit. As a result, we are more susceptible to fluctuations and risks particular to U.S. consumer credit than a more diversified company. For example, our business is particularly sensitive to macroeconomic conditions that affect the U.S. economy and consumer spending and consumer credit, such as rising interest rates and changes in monetary policy. We are also more susceptible to the risks of increased regulations and legal and other regulatory actions that are targeted at consumer credit. Our business concentration could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and future prospects.

Fraud is prevalent in the financial services industry and is likely to increase as perpetrators become more sophisticated. We are subject to the risk of fraudulent activity associated with borrowers and third parties handling borrower information and, in limited situations, we cover certain fraud losses of our lending partners and institutional investors in our loan funding programs.investors. For example, in the third quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022, we experienced temporary increases in fraudulent activity. Fraud rates could also increase in a down-cycle economy.

High profile fraudulent activity also could negatively impact our brand and reputation. In addition, significant increases in fraudulent activity could lead to regulatory intervention, which could increase our costs and also negatively impact our brand and reputation. Further, if there is any increase in fraudulent activity that increases the need for human intervention in screening loan application data, the level of automation on our platform could decline and negatively affect our unit economics. If we are unable to manage these risks, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our success significantly depends on the continued service of our senior management team including Dave Girouard, our Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, and Paul Gu, our Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, and other highly skilled personnel. Our success also depends on our ability to identify, hire, develop, motivate and retain highly qualified personnel for all areas of our organization.

Competition is high for highly skilled personnel, including engineering and data analytics personnel, is extremely intense, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area where one of our headquarters is located. While we have transitioned to a Digital First work model which allows us to recruit nationwide, we have experienced, and expect to continue to face, some difficulty identifying and hiring qualified personnel, especially as we pursue our growth strategy. We may not be able to hire or retain such personnel at compensation or flexibility levels consistent with our existing compensation and salary structure and policies. We periodically review our compensation levels to ensure they remain competitive and have increased them when we believe market conditions warrant it. However, we may need to further increase our existing compensation levels in response to competition, rising inflation or labor shortages, which would increase our operating costs and reduce our margins. Many of the companies with which we compete for experienced employees have greater resources than we have and may be able to offer more attractive terms of employment. In particular, candidates making employment decisions, specifically in high-technology industries, often consider the value of any equity they may receive in connection with their employment. The recent significant volatility in the price of our stock may have adversely contributed to, and in the future may affect, our ability to attract or retain highly skilled technical, financial and marketing personnel.

In addition, we invest significant time and expense in training our employees, which increases their value to competitors who may seek to recruit them. If we fail to retain our employees, we could incur significant expenses in hiring and training their replacements. While we are in the process of training their replacements, the quality of our services and our ability to serve our lending partners, institutional investors and borrowers whose loans we service may suffer, resulting in an adverse effect on our business.

Furthermore, we have reduced our workforce in November 2022 and January 2023 and may further reduce our workforce in the future to lower our operating costs and streamline operations. These reductions in forceour workforce may adversely affect employee morale, our culture and our ability to attract and retain personnel who are critical to our business. It may also negatively impact our ability to pursue new initiatives due to insufficient resources and personnel. We may be unsuccessful in distributing duties and obligations of impacted employees among the remaining employees. We also may not realize the anticipated benefits and cost savings and may suffer unintended consequences, such as the loss of institutional knowledge, higher than expected employee turnover and significant disruptions in our day-to-day operations. If we are unable to realize the expected operational efficiencies or cost savings from the reductions in force,our workforce, or if we experience significant adverse consequences as a result, our business, financial conditions and results of operations may be adversely affected.

We are increasingly dependent on information technology systems, services and infrastructure to operate our business. In the ordinary course of our business, we collect, process, transmit and store large amounts of sensitive information, including personal information, credit information and other sensitive data of borrowers and potential borrowers. It is critical that we do so in a manner designed to maintain the confidentiality, integrity and availability of such sensitive information. We also have arrangements in place with certain of our third-party vendors that require us to share consumer information. We have outsourced elements of our operations (including elements of our information technology infrastructure) to third parties, and as a result, we manage a number of third-party vendors who may have access to our computer networks and sensitive or confidential information. In addition, many of those third parties may in turn subcontract or outsource some of their responsibilities to other third parties. As a result, our information technology systems, including the functions of third parties that are involved or have access to those systems, are large and complex, with many points of entry and access. While all information technology operations are inherently vulnerable to inadvertent or intentional security breaches, incidents, attacks and exposures, the size, complexity, accessibility and distributed nature of our information technology systems, and the large amounts of sensitive information stored on those systems, make such systems potentially vulnerable to unintentional or malicious, internal and external attacks. Any vulnerabilities can be exploited from inadvertent or intentional actions of our employees, third-party vendors, lending partners, loan institutional investors, or by malicious third parties.threat actors. While we continuously refine our security controls to address the evolving threat landscape, attacks of this nature are increasing in their frequency, levels of persistence, sophistication and intensity, and are being conducted by sophisticated and organized groups and individuals with a wide range of motives (including, but not limited to, industrial espionage) and expertise, including organized criminal groups, “hacktivists,” nation states and others. These risks may be heightened in connection with the Russia-Ukraine conflict.geopolitical conflicts. In addition to the extraction of sensitive information, such attacks could include the deployment of harmful malware, ransomware, denial-of-service attacks, social engineering and other means to affect service reliability and threaten the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information and systems. In addition, the prevalent use of mobile devices increases the risk of data security incidents. Further, our Digital First working environment could increase the risks of security breaches and incidents.incidents as more of our employees are accessing our servers remotely through home or other networks, reducing physical and social security controls on employee monitoring. Significant disruptions of our, our lending partners and third-party vendors’ and/or other business partners’to information technology systems or other security incidents within our company, our lending partners and third-party vendors and/or other business partners could adversely affect our business operations and result in the loss, misappropriation, or unauthorized access, use or disclosure of, or the prevention of access to, sensitive information, which could result in financial, legal, regulatory, business and reputational harm to us. Our use of AI technology may create additional cybersecurity risks or increase cybersecurity risks, including risks of security breaches and incidents. Further, AI technology may be used in connection with certain types of cybersecurity attacks, resulting in heightened risks of security breaches and incidents.

Because techniques used to obtain unauthorized access or to sabotage systems change frequently and generally are not recognized until they are launched against a target, we and our vendors may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures. In addition, many governments have enacted laws

We also face indirect technology, cybersecurity and operational risks relating to the borrowers, lending partners, institutional investors, vendors and other third parties with whom we do business or upon whom we rely on to facilitate or enable our business activities, including vendors, payment processors, and other parties who have access to confidential information due to our agreements with them. In addition, any security compromise in our industry, whether actual or perceived, or information technology system disruptions, whether from attacks on our technology environment or from computer malware, natural disasters, terrorism, war, andgeopolitical conflicts, or telecommunication andor electrical failures, could interrupt our business or operations, harm our reputation, erode borrower confidence, negatively affect our ability to attract new borrowers, or subject us to third-party lawsuits, regulatory fines or other action or liability, which could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Like other financial and technology services firms, we have been and continue to be the subject of actual or attempted unauthorized access, mishandling or misuse of information, computer viruses or malware, and cyber-attacks that could obtain confidential information, destroy data, disrupt or degrade service, sabotage systems or cause other damage, distributed denial of service attacks, data breaches and other infiltration, exfiltration or other similar events.

While we regularly monitor data flow inside and outside the company, attackers have become very sophisticated in the way they conceal access to systems, and we may not be aware that we have been attacked. Any event that leads to unauthorized access, use or disclosure of personal information or other sensitive information that we or our vendors maintain, including our own proprietary business information and sensitive information such as personal information regarding borrowers, loan applicants or employees, could disrupt our business, harm our reputation, compel us to comply with applicable federal and/or state breach notification laws and foreign law equivalents, subject us to time consuming, distracting and expensive litigation, regulatory investigation and oversight, mandatory corrective action, require us to verify the correctness of database contents,data, or otherwise subject us to liability under laws, regulations and contractual obligations, including those that protect the privacy and security of personal information. This could result in increased costs to us and result in significant legal and financial exposure and/or reputational harm. In addition, any failure or perceived failure by us or our vendors to comply with our privacy, confidentiality or data security-related legal or other obligations to our lending partners or other third parties, actual or perceived security breaches, or any security incidents or other events that result in the unauthorized access, release or transfer of sensitive information, which could include personally identifiable information, may result in governmental investigations, enforcement actions, regulatory fines, litigation, or public statements against us by advocacy groups or others, and could cause our lending partners and other third parties to lose trust in us or we could be subject to claims by our lending partners and other third parties that we have breached our privacy- or confidentiality-related obligations, which could harm our business and prospects. Moreover, data security incidents and other inappropriate access can be difficult to detect, and any delay in identifying them may lead to increased harm of the type described above. There can be no assurance that our security measures intended to protect our information technology systems and infrastructure will successfully prevent service interruptions or security incidents. For example, in April 2020, we were made aware of a software error which allowed access to certain consumers’ accounts through the Upstart website without providing such consumers’ passwords. As a result, certain of such consumers’ personal information, such as their name, address and job information (but not full social security information), could behave been accessed by a third party. We promptly deployed an update to our software to address such vulnerability and are conductingconducted an internal investigation. We are not aware of any information being compromised as a result of this error. We cannot provide any assurance that similar vulnerabilities will not arise in the future as we continue to expand the features and functionalities of our platform and introduce new loan products

We maintain errors, omissions, and cyber liability insurance policies covering certain security and privacy damages. However, we cannot be certain that our coverage will continue to be available on economically reasonable

We rely on our proprietary AI models, which are statistical models built using a variety of data-sets. Our AI models rely on a wide variety of data sources, including data collected from applicants and borrowers, credit bureau data and our credit experience gained through monitoring the payment performance of borrowers over time. Under our agreements with our lending partners, we receive licenses to use data collected from loan applicants and borrowers. The vast majority of Upstart-powered loans are not secured by any collateral, guaranteed or insured by any third party or backed by any governmental authority. As a result,CFPB has proposed rules on “open banking” that would give consumers certain rights in deciding how companies like us can use their personal financial data, and also proposed additional restrictions and requirements on companies that use such data. If we are unable to access and use data collected from applicants and borrowers, data received from credit bureaus, repayment data collected as part of our loan servicing activities, or any other data for our AI models, or our access to such data is limited, in our ability to collectaccurately evaluate potential borrowers, detect fraud and verify applicant data would be compromised. Any of the foregoing could negatively impact the accuracy of our pricing decisions, the degree of automation in our loan application process and the volume of loans facilitated on our marketplace.

Third-party data sources on which we rely include the consumer reporting agencies regulated by the CFPB and other alternative data sources. Such data is electronically obtained from third parties and used in our AI models to price applicants and in our fraud models to verify the accuracy of applicant-reported information. Data from national credit bureaus and other consumer reporting agencies, as well as other information that we receive from third parties about an applicant or borrower, may be inaccurate or may not accurately reflect the applicant or borrower’s creditworthiness for a variety of reasons, including inaccurate reporting by creditors to the credit bureaus, errors, staleness or incompleteness. For example, loan applicants’ credit scores may not reflect such applicants’ actual creditworthiness because the credit scores may be based on outdated, incomplete or inaccurate consumer reporting data, including, as a consequence of us utilizing credit reports for a specific period of time after issuance before such reports are deemed to be outdated. Similarly, the data taken from an applicant’s credit report may also be based on outdated, incomplete or inaccurate consumer reporting data. Although regulatory protections are in place to afford consumers the right to dispute inaccuracies and despite the fact that we use numerous third-party data sources and multiple credit factors within our proprietary models, which helps mitigate this risk, it does not eliminate the risk of an inaccurate individual report.

In addition, if any data used to train and improve our AI models is inaccurate or otherwise unreliable, or access to third-party data is limited or becomes unavailable to us, our ability to continue to improve our AI models would be adversely affected. Any of the foregoing could result in sub-optimally and inefficiently priced loans, on behalfincorrect approvals or denials of loans, or higher than expected loan losses, which in turn could adversely affect our ability to attract new borrowers, lending partners and institutional investors ofto our loan funding programs if a borrower is unwillingmarketplace or unable to repay them. The ability to collect onincrease the loans is dependent on the borrower’s continuing financial stability, and consequently, collections can be adversely affected by a number of factors, including, but not limited to, unemployment, divorce, death, illness, bankruptcy or the economic or social factors beyond a borrower’s personal circumstances. In addition, the application of various federalUpstart-powered loans and state laws, including federal and state bankruptcy and insolvency laws, may limit the amount that can be recovered on these loans. It is possible that a higher percentage of consumers will seek protection under bankruptcy or debtor relief laws as a result of the current inflationary environment, the possibility of a recession and market volatility. Federal, state, or other restrictions could impair our ability to collect amounts owed and due on the loans facilitated through our platform, reduce income received from the loans facilitated through our platform, or negativelyadversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In our loan funding programs, including asset-backed securitizations, pass-through certificate transactions, warehouse credit facilities and whole loan sales,sale arrangements, we make numerous representations and warranties concerning the characteristics of the Upstart-powered loans sold and transferred in connection with such transactions, including representations and warranties that the loans meet the eligibility requirements of those facilities and of institutional investors in our loan funding programs.investors. If those representations and warranties were not accurate when made and are not timely cured or incurable, we may be required to repurchase the underlying loans. Failure to repurchase such loans could constitute a default, an event of default or termination event under the agreements governing our various loan funding programsarrangements or transactions and could require us to indemnify certain financing parties. Through December 31, 2022,2023, the number of repurchased Upstart-powered loans as a result of inaccurate representations and warranties represents less than 0.28%1% of all Upstart-powered loans. While only a small number of Upstart-powered loans have been historically repurchased by us, there can be no assurance that we would have adequate cash or other qualifying assets available to make such repurchases if and when required. Such repurchases could be limited in scope, relating to small pools of loans, or significant in scope, across multiple pools of loans. If we were required to make such repurchases and if we do not have adequate liquidity to fund such repurchases, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected. In addition, a high volume of repurchases due to a breach of such representations and warranties could have an adverse impact on our reputation as a loan seller and servicer.

Our Digital First model could lead to a negative long-term impact on our operations, the execution of our business plans and sales and marketing efforts, our company culture, or the productivity and retention of key personnel and other employees necessary to conduct our business, or otherwise cause operational failures due to changes in our past business practices. If a natural disaster, power outage, connectivity issue, or other event were to occur that impacted our employees’ ability to work remotely, it may be difficult or, in certain cases, impossible, for us to continue our business for a substantial period of time. The increase in remote working may also result in increased exposure to consumer privacy and data security incidents, or fraudulent activity. Furthermore, our understanding of applicable legal and regulatory requirements related to a remote workforce may be subject to legal or regulatory challenge, particularly as regulatory guidance evolves in response to future developments. If we are unable to successfully address the foregoing risks and challenges as we encounter them, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our success will depend, in part, on our ability to grow our business. In some circumstances, we may determine to do so through the acquisition of, or investments in, complementary businesses and technologies rather than through internal development. For example, in 2021, we completed the acquisition of Prodigy. The identification of suitable acquisition candidates can be difficult, time-consuming, and costly, and we may not be able to successfully complete identified acquisitions. In the future, we may acquire assets or businesses. The risks we face in connection with acquisitions include:

Our failure to address these risks or other problems encountered in connection with any future acquisitions and strategic investments could cause us to fail to realize the anticipated benefits of these acquisitions or investments, cause us to incur unanticipated liabilities and harm our business generally. Future acquisitions could also result in dilutive issuances of our equity securities, the incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities, amortization expenses or the write-off of goodwill, any of which could harm our financial condition.

Strategic investments in which we have a minority ownership stake and that we do not control may from time to time have economic, business, or legal interests or goals that are inconsistent with our goals. As a result, business decisions or other actions or omissions of controlling shareholders, management, or other persons or entities who control companies in which we invest may adversely affect the value of our investment, result in litigation or regulatory action against us, or otherwise damage our reputation and brand.

Significant natural disasters or other catastrophic events, such as earthquakes, fires, hurricanes, blizzards, or floods (many of which are becoming more acute and frequent as a result of climate change), or interruptions by strikes, crime, terrorism, epidemics, pandemics, cyber-attacks, computer viruses, internal or external system failures, telecommunications failures, a failure of banking or other financial institutions, power outages or increased risk of cybersecurity breaches due to a swift transition to remote work brought about by a catastrophic event, could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The long-term effects of climate change on the global economy and our industry in particular are unclear; however, we recognize that there are inherent climate-related risks wherever business is conducted. Either of our headquarters may be vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. One of our headquarters is located in the San Francisco Bay Area, a region that is prone to seismic activity and has experienced and may continue to experience, climate-related events and at an increasing rate. Examples include but are not limited to drought and water scarcity, warmer temperatures, wildfires and air quality impacts and power shut-offs associated with wildfire prevention. The increasing intensity of drought throughout California and annual periods of wildfire danger increase the probability of planned power outages. Our other headquarters in Columbus, Ohio is a region at higher risk for extreme winter weather, including blizzards. Although we maintain a disaster response plan and insurance, such events could disrupt our business, the business of our lending partners or third-party suppliers, and may cause us to

In addition, acts of war and other armed conflicts, disruptions in global trade, travel restrictions and quarantines, terrorism and other civil, political and geo-political unrest, such as the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict,geopolitical conflicts, could cause disruptions in our business and lead to interruptions, delays or loss of critical data. Any of the foregoing risks may be further increased if our business continuity plans prove to be inadequate and there can be no assurance that both personnel and non-mission critical applications can be fully operational after a declared disaster within a defined recovery time. If our personnel, systems or data centers are impacted, we may suffer interruptions and delays in our business operations. In addition, to the extent these events impact the ability of borrowers to timely repay their loans, our business could be negatively affected.

The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States requires our management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported and disclosed in our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. We base our estimates and assumptions on historical experience and on various other assumptionsdata points that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. The results of these estimates form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets, liabilities, and equity, and the amount of revenue and expenses that are not readily apparent from other sources. Significant estimates and assumptions which we believe are critical in understanding and estimates used in preparingevaluating our consolidated financial statements include those related toresults include: (i) fair value determinations,determinations; (ii) stock-based compensation,compensation; (iii) consolidation of variable interest entities, provision for income taxes, net of valuation allowance for deferred tax assets,VIEs; and (iv) the evaluation for impairment of goodwill and acquired intangible assets. Our results of operations may be adversely affected if our assumptions change or if actual circumstances differ from those in our assumptions, which could cause our results of operations to fall below the expectations of industry or financial analysts and investors, resulting in a decline in the trading price of our common stock.

Additionally, we regularly monitor our compliance with applicable financial reporting standards and review new pronouncements and drafts thereof that are relevant to us. As a result of new standards, or changes to existing standards, and changes in their interpretation, we might be required to change our accounting policies, alter our operational policies and implement new or enhance existing systems so that they reflect new or amended financial reporting standards, or we may be required to restate our published financial statements. Such changes to existing standards or changes in their interpretation may have an adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition, and profit and loss, or cause an adverse deviation from our revenue and operating profit and loss target, which may negatively impact our results of operations.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal controlcontrols over financial reporting. We are continuing to develop and refine our disclosure controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we will file with the SEC is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms and that information required to be disclosed in reports under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our principal executive and financial officers. We are also continuing to improve

Weaknesses in our disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting have been discovered in the past and may be discovered in the future. We cannot assure you that the measures we have taken to date, or any measures we may take in the future, will be sufficient to identify or prevent future material weaknesses or deficiencies. The nature of our business is such that our financial statements involve a number of complex accounting policies, many of which involve significant elements of judgment, including determinations regarding the consolidation of variable interest entities, determinations regarding the fair value of financial assets and liabilities (including loans, notes receivable, payable to securitization note holders and residual certificate holders, servicing assets and liabilities, and trailing fee liabilities) and the appropriate classification of various items within our financial statements. See Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements for more information about our significant accounting policies. The inherent complexity of these accounting matters and the nature and variety of transactions in which we are involved require that we have sufficient qualified accounting personnel with an appropriate level of experience and controls in our financial reporting process commensurate with the complexity of our business. While we believe we have sufficient internal accounting personnel and external resources and appropriate controls to address the demands of our business, we expect that the growth and development of our business will place significant additional demands on our accounting resources. Any failure to develop or maintain effective controls or any difficulties encountered in their implementation or improvement could harm our results of operations or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations and may result in a restatement of our financial statements for prior periods. Any failure to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could also adversely affect the results of periodic management evaluations and annual independent registered public accounting firm attestation reports regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting that we will eventually be required to include in our periodic reports that will be filed with the SEC. Ineffective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial and other information, which would likely have a negative effect on the trading price of our common stock. In addition, if we are unable to continue to meet these requirements, we may not be able to remain listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. As a public company, we are required to provide an annual management report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. There can be no assurance that we will maintain internal control over financial reporting sufficient to enable us to identify or avoid material weaknesses in the future.

Any failure to maintain effective disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition and could cause a decline in the trading price of our common stock.

Certain estimates and growth forecasts included in this report, including those we have generated ourselves, are subject to significant uncertainty and are based on assumptions and estimates that may not prove to be accurate. The estimates and forecasts in this report relating to the size and expected growth of our target market may prove to be inaccurate. It is impossible to offer every loan product, term or feature that every customer wants or that any given lending partner is necessarily capable of supporting, and our competitors may develop and offer loan products, terms or features that we do not offer. Even if the markets in which we compete meet the size estimates and growth forecasted in this report, we may be unable to address these markets successfully and our business could fail to grow for a variety of reasons outside of our control, including competition in our industry. We regularly review and may adjust our processes for calculating our key metrics to improve their accuracy. For example, in the third quarter of 2021, we adjusted our process for calculating Conversion Rate to account for an increase in fraudulent applications. Our key metrics may differ from estimates published by third parties or from similarly titled metrics of our

Our ability to operate our platform depends, in part, upon our proprietary technology. We may be unable to protect our proprietary technology effectively which would allow competitors to duplicate our AI models or AI lending marketplace and adversely affect our ability to compete with them. We rely on a combination of copyright, trade secret, patent, trademark laws and other rights, as well as confidentiality procedures, contractual provisions and our information security infrastructure to protect our proprietary technology, processes and other intellectual property. While we have two patents issued and onethree patent applicationapplications pending, we have limited patent protection and our patent application may not be successful. The steps we take to protect our intellectual property rights may be inadequate. For example, aA third party may attempt to reverse engineer or otherwise obtain and use our proprietary technology without our consent. The pursuit of a claim against a third party for infringement of our intellectual property could be costly, and there can be no guarantee that any such efforts would be successful. Our failure to secure, protect and enforce our intellectual property rights could adversely affect our brand and adversely impact our business.

Our proprietary technology, including our AI models, may actually or may be alleged to infringe upon third-party intellectual property, and we may face intellectual property challenges from such other parties. We may not be successful in defending against any such challenges or in obtaining licenses to avoid or resolve any intellectual property disputes. If we are unsuccessful, such claims or litigation could result in a requirement that we pay significant damages or licensing fees, or we could in some circumstances be required to make changes to our business to avoid such infringement, which would negatively impact our financial performance. We may also be obligated to indemnify parties or pay substantial settlement costs, including royalty payments, in connection with any such claim or litigation and to modify applications or refund fees, which could be costly. Even if we were to prevail in such a dispute, any litigation regarding our intellectual property could be costly and time consuming and divert the attention of our management and key personnel from our business operations.

Moreover, it has become common in recent years for individuals and groups to purchase intellectual property assets for the sole purpose of making claims of infringement and attempting to extract settlements from companies such as ours. Even in instances where we believe that claims and allegations of intellectual property infringement against us are without merit, defending against such claims is time consuming and expensive and could result in the diversion of time and attention of our management and employees. In addition, although in some cases a third party may have agreed to indemnify us for such costs, such indemnifying party may refuse or be unable to

Furthermore, our technology may become obsolete or inadequate, and there is no guarantee that we will be able to successfully develop, obtain or use new technologies to adapt our models and systems to compete with other technologies as they develop. If we cannot protect our proprietary technology from intellectual property challenges, or if our technology becomes obsolete or inadequate, our ability to maintain our model and systems, facilitate loans or perform our servicing obligations on the loans could be adversely affected.

In the event of a system outage or other event resulting in data loss or corruption, our ability to process loan applications, service loans or otherwise facilitate loans on our platformmarketplace would be adversely affected. We also rely on facilities, components, and services supplied by third parties, including data center facilities, cloud storage services and national consumer reporting agencies. We host our AI lending platform using Amazon Web Services, or AWS, a provider of cloud infrastructure services. In the event that our AWS service agreements are terminated, or there is a lapse of service, interruption of internet service provider connectivity or damage to AWS data centers, we could experience interruptions in access to our platform as well as delays and additional expense in the event we must secure alternative cloud infrastructure services. For a large portion of borrowers’ data used in our AI lending platform,marketplace, we obtain borrowers’ data from national consumer reporting agencies, such as TransUnion, and rely on their services in order to process loan applications. Any interference or disruption of our technology and underlying infrastructure or our use of third-party services could adversely affect our relationships with our lending partners and institutional investors, in our funding programs, and the overall user experience of our platform.marketplace. Depending on the type and severity of any such disruption, we could be exposed to litigation and regulatory risk. For example, a cybersecurity incident could result in the exposure of consumer data triggering remedial measures, notification requirements, as well as litigation and regulatory exposure. Also, as our business grows, we may be required to expand and improve the capacity, capability and reliability of our infrastructure. If we are not able to effectively address capacity constraints, upgrade our systems as needed and continually develop our technology and infrastructure to reliably support our business, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Additionally, in the event of damage or interruption, our insurance policies may not adequately compensate us for any losses incurred. Our disaster recovery plan has not been tested under actual disaster conditions, and we may not have sufficient capacity to recover all data and services in the event of an outage or other event resulting in data loss or corruption. These factors could prevent us from processing or posting payments on the loans, damage our brand and reputation, divert our employees’ attention, subject us to liability and cause borrowers to abandon our business, any of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our platform and internal systems rely on software that is highly technical and complex. In addition, our platform and internal systems depend on the ability of such software to store, retrieve, process and manage high volumes of data. The software on which we rely has contained, and may now or in the future contain, undetected errors or bugs. Some errors may only be discovered after the code has been released for external or internal use. Errors or other design defects within the software on which we rely may result in failure to accurately predict a loan applicant’s creditworthiness, failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations, approval of sub-optimally priced loans, incorrectly displayed interest rates to applicants or borrowers, or incorrectly charged interest to borrowers or fees to lending partners or institutional investors, failure to present or properly display regulatory disclosures to applicants for an extended period of time, failure to detect fraudulent activity on our platform, a negative experience for consumers or lending partners, delayed introductions of new features or enhancements, or failure to protect borrower data or our intellectual property. Any errors, bugs or defects discovered in the software on which we rely could result in harm to our reputation, loss of consumers or lending partners, increased regulatory

Some aspects of our business processes include open source software, and any failure to comply with the terms of one or more of these open source licenses could negatively affect our business.

We incorporate open source software into processes supporting our business. Such open source software may include software covered by licenses like the GNU General Public License and the Apache License. The terms of various open source licenses have not been interpreted by U.S. courts, and there is a risk that such licenses could be construed in a manner that limits our use of the software, inhibits certain aspects of our systems and negatively affects our business operations.

Some open source licenses contain requirements that we make source code available at no cost for modifications or derivative works we create based upon the type of open source software we use.

We may face claims from third parties claiming ownership of, or demanding the release or license of, such modifications or derivative works (which could include our proprietary source code or AI models) or otherwise seeking to enforce the terms of the applicable open source license. If portions of our proprietary AI models are determined to be subject to an open source license, or if the license terms for the open source software that we incorporate change, we could be required to publicly release the affected portions of our source code, re-engineer all or a portion of our model or change our business activities, any of which could negatively affect our business operations and potentially our intellectual property rights. If we were required to publicly disclose any portion of our proprietary models, it is possible we could lose the benefit of trade secret protection for our models.

In addition to risks related to license requirements, the use of open source software can lead to greater risks than the use of third-party commercial software, as open source licensors generally do not provide warranties or controls on the origin of the software. Use of open source software may also present additional security risks because the public availability of such software may make it easier for hackers and other third parties to determine how to breach our website and systems that rely on open source software. Many of the risks associated with the use of open source software cannot be eliminated and could adversely affect our business.

A significant number of consumers that apply for a loan on Upstart.com learn about and access Upstart.com through the website of a loan aggregator, typically with a hyperlink from such loan aggregator’s website to a landing page on our website. While we are planningcontinuing to move towards moreexpand our direct acquisition channels, we anticipate that we will continue to depend in significant part on relationships with loan aggregators to maintain and grow our business. For example, a significant amount of our loan originations was derived from traffic from one of our partners, Credit Karma. Our most recent agreement with Credit Karma, provides that either party may terminate our arrangement immediately upon a material breachone of any provision of the agreement or at any time, with or without cause, by providing no less than 30 days’ notice. Our agreements with the loan aggregators do not requirewith whom we partner. The loan aggregators, including Credit Karma, are not required to display offers from lendersour lending partners on Upstart.com nor prohibit themare they prohibited from working with our competitors or from offering competing services. In this regard, Credit Karma has been directing, and may continueadding our competitors to direct, more customer traffic to a program that hosts and aggregates the credit models of other loan providers directly on its platform for the purpose of giving credit offers.their platforms. If traffic from Credit Karma or other loan aggregators decreases in the future as a result of this program or for other reasons,any reason, our loan originations and results of operations would be adversely affected. There is also no assurance that Credit Karma or other loan aggregators will continue its contractto partner with us on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Furthermore, on December 3, 2020, Credit Karma was acquired by Intuit Inc. It is possible Intuit may not continue our agreement on commercially reasonable terms or at all, which would adversely affect our business. Our competitors may be effective in providing incentives to loan aggregators to favor their products or services or in reducing the volume of loans facilitated through our platform.marketplace. Loan aggregators may not perform as expected under our agreements with them, and we may have disagreements or

Such loan aggregators also face litigation and regulatory scrutiny for their part in the consumer lending ecosystem, and as a result, their business models may require fundamental change or may not be sustainable in the future. For example, loan aggregators are increasingly required to be licensed as loan brokers or lead generators in many states, subjecting them to increased regulatory supervision and more stringent business requirements. While we require loan aggregators to make certain disclosures in connection with our lending partners’ offers and restrict how loan aggregators may display such loan offers, loan aggregators may nevertheless alter or even remove these required disclosures without notifying us, which may result in liability to us. Further, we do not have control over any content on loan aggregator websites, and it is possible that our brand and reputation may be adversely affected by being associated with such content. An unsatisfied borrower could also seek to bring claims against us based on the content presented on a loan aggregator’s website. Such claims could be costly and time consuming to defend and could distract management’s attention from the operation of the business.

Our success depends in part on our relationships with third-party vendors. In some cases, third-party vendors are one of a limited number of sources. For example, we rely on national consumer reporting agencies, such as TransUnion, for a large portion of the data used in our AI models. In addition, we rely on third-party verification technologies and services that are critical to our ability to maintain a high level of automation on our platform. In addition, because we are not a bank, we cannot belong to or directly access the ACH payment network. As a result, we rely on one or more banks with access to the ACH payment network to process collections on Upstart-powered loans. Many of our vendor agreements are terminable by either party without penalty and with little notice. If any of our third-party vendors terminates its relationship with us or refuses to renew its agreement with us on commercially reasonable terms, we would need to find an alternate provider, and may not be able to secure similar terms or replace such providers in an acceptable timeframe.time frame. We also rely on other software and services supplied by vendors, such as communications, analytics and internal software, and our business may be adversely affected to the extent such software and services do not meet our expectations, contain errors or vulnerabilities, are compromised or experience outages. Any of these risks could increase our costs and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Further, any negative publicity related to any of our third-party partners, including any publicity related to quality standards or safety concerns, could adversely affect our reputation and brand, and could potentially lead to increased regulatory or litigation exposure.

We incorporate technology from third parties into our platform. We cannot be certain that our licensors are not infringing the intellectual property rights of others or that the suppliers and licensors have sufficient rights to the technology in all jurisdictions in which we may operate. Some of our license agreements may be terminated by our licensors for convenience. If we are unable to obtain or maintain rights to any of this technology because of intellectual property infringement claims brought by third parties against our suppliers and licensors or against us, or if we are unable to continue to obtain the technology or enter into new agreements on commercially reasonable terms, our ability to develop our platform containing that technology could be severely limited and our business could be harmed. Additionally, if we are unable to obtain necessary technology from third parties, we may be forced to acquire or develop alternate technology, which may require significant time and effort and may be of lower quality or performance standards. This would limit and delay our ability to provide new or competitive loan products or service offerings and increase our costs. If alternate technology cannot be obtained or developed, we may not be able to offer certain functionality as part of our platform and service offerings, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We have significant vendors that provide us with a number of services to support our platform. If any third-party vendors fail to comply with applicable laws and regulations or comply with their contractual requirements, including failure to maintain adequate systems addressing privacy and data protection and security, we could be

The CFPB and each of the prudential bank regulators that supervise our lending partners have issued guidance stating that institutions under their supervision may be held responsible for the actions of the companies with which they contract. As a service provider to those supervised entities, we must ensure we have implemented an adequate vendor management program. We or our lending partners could be adversely impacted to the extent we fail to implement a vendor management system that is satisfactory to the CFPB and other regulators or our vendors fail to comply with the legal requirements applicable to the particular products or services being offered. Our use of third-party vendors is subject to increasing regulatory attention.

The CFPB and other regulators have also issued regulatory guidance that has focused on the need for financial institutions to perform increased due diligence and ongoing monitoring of third-party vendor relationships, thus increasingincluding, for example, the June 2023 interagency guidance on third party risk management. Such guidance increases the scope of management involvement in connection with using third-party vendors. Moreover, if regulators conclude that we or our lending partners have not met the heightened standards for oversight of our third-party vendors, we or our lending partners could be subject to enforcement actions, civil monetary penalties, supervisory orders to cease and desist or other remedial actions, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, in July 2021, the prudential bank regulators issued a proposal to significantly revise bank oversight of service providers, which could impact the way in which we are monitored or reviewed where we provide services to those banks.

When establishing the interest rates and structures (and the amounts and structures of certain fees constituting interest under federal banking law, such as origination fees, late fees and non-sufficient funds fees) that are charged to borrowers on loans originated on our platform,marketplace, our lending partners rely on certain authority under federal law to export the interest rate requirements of the state where each lending partner is located to borrowers in all other states. Further, certain ofwe, our securitization vehicles and our institutional investors that purchase Upstart-powered loans originated by our lending partners and institutional investors rely on the ability, ofas subsequent holders of the loans, to continue charging such rate

Usury, fee, and disclosure related claims involving Upstart-powered loans may be raised in multiple ways. ProgramWe or the participants in our marketplace, including lending partners and institutional investors, may face litigation, government enforcement or other challenge,challenges, for example, based on claims that bank lendersour lending partners did not establish loan terms that were permissible in the state they were located or did not correctly identify the home or host state in which they were located for purposes of interest exportation authority under federal law. Alternatively, we or our institutional investors may face litigation, government enforcement or other challenge, for example, based on claims that rates and fees were lawful at origination and through any period during which the lending partner retained the loan and interests therein, but that subsequentfollowing the sale of loans, we or other purchasers were unableof the loans, including our institutional investors, are not permitted to enforce the loanloans pursuant to itstheir contracted-for terms, or that while certain disclosures were not providedrequired at origination because while such disclosures are not required ofthe loans were originated by banks, they may be required following the sale of non-bank lenders.such loans.

In Madden v. Midland Funding, LLC, 786 F.3d 246 (2d Cir. 2015), cert. denied, 136 S.Ct. 2505 (June 27, 2016), for example, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the non-bank purchaser of

In addition, in June 2019, private plaintiffs filed class action complaints against multiple traditional credit card securitization programs, including, Petersen, et al. v. Chase Card Funding, LLC, et al., (No. 1:19-cv-00741-LJV-JJM19-cv-00741-

There are factual distinctions between our program and the circumstances addressed in the Second Circuit’s Madden decision, as well as the circumstances in the Colorado UCCC settlement, credit card securitization litigation, and similar cases. As noted above, there are also bases on which the Madden decision’s validity might be subject to challenge or the Madden decision may be addressed by federal regulation or legislation. Nevertheless, there can be no guarantee that a Madden-like claim will not be brought successfully against us, our lending partners or other Upstart program participants.our institutional investors.

Additionally, effectiveEffective October 2021, Maine updated its Consumer Credit Code to include a statutory “true lender” test, providing that an entity is a “lender” subject to certain requirements of the Consumer Credit Code if the person, among other things: (i) has the predominant economic interest in a loan; (ii) brokers, arranges, or facilitates a loan and has the right to purchase the loan; or (iii) based on the totality of the circumstances, appears to be the lender, and the transaction is structured to evade certain statutory requirements. Me. Rev. Stat. § 2-702. It is possible that otherConnecticut and Minnesota codified a “true lender” test into their laws in 2023, which similarly focus on the totality of the circumstances or who has the “predominant economic interest” in the loans. More states may follow suit, institutingalso institute similar statutory “true lender” tests. The statutory “true lender” tests which may impactincrease the risk of true lender litigation in certain jurisdictions as well asand impact how the tests are applied by courts and regulators in determining the true lender. While such provisions provide additional clarity with respect to jurisdictional requirements, theyThey may also result in increased usury and licensing risk. For example, Hawaii has broadened its oversight of installment lenders. Effective January 1, 2022, Hawaii instituted a new licensing requirement for “installment lenders”, which is defined to capture loans offered under a bank partnership model (i.e., it applies to a person “who arranges a consumer loan for a third party, or who acts as an agent for a third party, regardless of whether the third party is exempt from licensure.” H.B. 1192 (2021)). Other states may take different paths to promulgate similar “true lender” restrictions, and if not through a legislative path, impacted parties may have little to no advance notice of new restrictions and compliance obligations.

If a borrower or any state agency were to successfully bring a claim against us, our lending partners, our securitization vehicles and/or the trustees of such vehicles or our institutional investors for a state usury law or fee restriction violation and the rate or fee at issue on the loan was impermissible under applicable state law, we, our lending partners, securitization vehicles and/or trustees or institutional investors in our loan funding programs may face various commercial and legal repercussions, including that such parties would not receive the total amount of interest expected, and in some cases, may not receive any interest or principal, may hold loans that are void, voidable, rescindable, or otherwise impaired or may be subject to monetary, injunctive or criminal penalties. Were such repercussions to apply to us, we may suffer direct monetary loss or may be a less attractive candidate for lending partners, securitization trustees or institutional investors to enter into or renew relationships; and were such repercussions to apply to our lending partners or institutional investors, such parties could be discouraged from using our platform.marketplace. We may also be subject to payment of damages in situations where we agreed to provide indemnification, as well as fines and penalties assessed by state and federal regulatory agencies.

Upstart-powered loans are originated in reliance on the fact that our lending partners are the “true lenders” for such loans. That true lender status determines various Upstart-powered loan program details, including that we do not hold licenses required solely for being the party that extends credit to consumers, and Upstart-powered loans may involve interest rates and structures (and certain fees and fees structures) permissible at origination only because the loan terms and lending practices are permissible only when the lender is a bank, and/or the disclosures provided to borrowers would be accurate and compliant only if the lender is a bank. Because the loans facilitated by our platformmarketplace are originated by our lending partners, many state consumer financial regulatory requirements, including usury restrictions (other than the restrictions of the state in which a lending partner originating a particular loan is located) and many licensing requirements and substantive requirements under state consumer credit laws, are treated as inapplicable based on principles of federal preemption or express exemptions provided in relevant state laws for certain types of financial institutions or loans they originate.

Certain recent litigation and regulatory enforcement has challenged, or is currently challenging, the characterization of bank partners as the “true lender” in connection with programs involving origination and/or servicing relationships between a bank partner and non-bank lending platform or program manager. As noted above, the Colorado Administrator has entered into a settlement agreement with certain banks and non-banks that addresses this true lender issue. Specifically, the settlement agreement sets forth a safe harbor indicating that a bank is the true lender if certain specific terms and conditions are met. However, other states could also bring lawsuits based on these types of relationships. For example, in June 2020, the Washington, DC Attorney General filed a lawsuit against online lender Elevate for allegedly deceptively marketing high-cost loans with interest rates above the Washington, DC usury cap. The usury claim is based on an allegation that Elevate, which was not licensed in Washington, DC, and not its partner bank, originated these loans, and werewas therefore in violation of the state’s usury laws. This case has since been remandedultimately settled, with Elevate agreeing to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.charge rates only up to 24% and to refund consumers who were charged rates over what is allowed under Washington, DC law. A similar complaint against an online lender, Opportunity Financial, LLC, was filed in early 2021, alleging that it rather than a bank originated these loans and the loans were therefore in violation of Washington, DC usury laws. The parties settled this case in November 2021. Also in April 2021, the Maryland Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation also alleged in the context of a civil suit that a state-chartered bank and its fintech partners engaged in a bank partnership program that violated various state licensing and credit statutes. The case is pending before the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation for administrative adjudication. In June 2021, a putative class action lawsuit was filed against the online lender Marlette Funding LLC in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, alleging that the company, doing business as Best Egg, was the true lender of usurious loans, with a rate of interest far in excess of the 6% rate permitted to be charged in Pennsylvania by unlicensed non-banks, originated through a partnership with CRBCross River Bank (Case No. 21-CV-985). Furthermore, in April 2022, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation filed a complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court alleging that Opportunity Financial, LLC is the “true lender” of several loans to California residents that exceeded the applicable California

We note that the OCC issued on October 27, 2020, a final rule to address the “true lender” issue for lending transactions involving a national bank. For certain purposes related to federal banking law, including the ability of a national bank to “export” interest-related requirements from the state from which they lend, the rule would treat a national bank as the “true lender” if it is named as the lender in the loan agreement or funds the loan. However, the rule was subsequently challenged by the Attorneys General from seven states and ultimately repealed by Congress pursuant to the Congressional Review Act on June 30, 2021. No similar rule applicable to state-chartered banks was issued by the FDIC, and thus there is no longer a clear federal standard.

We,While we have taken steps to comply with the safe harbor in the Colorado settlement and other laws, regulations and guidance, we, lending partners, institutional investors, securitization vehicles and other similarly situated parties could become subject to challenges like thatthose presented by the Colorado settlement and, if so, we could face penalties and/or Upstart-powered loans may be void, voidable or otherwise impaired in a manner that may have adverse effects on our operations (directly, or as a result of adverse impact on our relationships with our lending partners, institutional investors or other commercial counterparties). However, we have taken steps to confirm that our business model conforms with

It is also possible that other state agencies or regulators could make similar assertions. If a court, or a state or federal enforcement agency, were to deem Upstart, rather than our lending partners, the “true lender” for loans originated on our platform,marketplace, and if for this reason (or any other reason) the loans were deemed subject to and in violation of certain state consumer finance laws, we could be subject to fines, damages, injunctive relief (including required modification or discontinuation of our business in certain areas) and other penalties or consequences, and the loans could be rendered void or unenforceable in whole or in part, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business (directly, or as a result of adverse impact on our relationships with our lending partners, institutional investors or other commercial counterparties).

The counterparties to the capped call transactions entered into in connection with the offering of the Notes (as defined below) are financial institutions, and we are subject to the risk that one or more of the counterparties may default or otherwise fail to perform, or may exercise certain rights to terminate, their obligations under the capped call transactions. Our exposure to the credit risk of the counterparties will not be secured by any collateral. Global economic conditions have in the past resulted in the actual or perceived failure or financial difficulties of many financial institutions. If a counterparty to one or more capped call transactions becomes subject to bankruptcy or other insolvency proceedings, we will become an unsecured creditor in those proceedings with a claim equal to our exposure at the time under such transactions. Our exposure will depend on many factors but, generally, our exposure will increase if the market price or the volatility of our common stock increases. In addition, upon a default or other failure to perform, or a termination of obligations, by a counterparty, the counterparty may fail to deliver the shares of our common stock or cash required to be delivered to us under the capped call transactions and we may suffer adverse tax consequences or experience more dilution than we currently anticipate with respect to our common stock. We can provide no assurances as to the financial stability or viability of the counterparties.

In the ordinary course of business, we have been named as a defendant in various legal actions, including a class action lawsuit and other litigation. Generally, this litigation arises from the dissatisfaction of a consumer with the products or services offered on our platform;marketplace; some of this litigation, however, has arisen from other matters, including claims of violation of laws related to credit reporting, collections and do-not-call. All such legal actions are inherently unpredictable and, regardless of the merits of the claims, litigation is often expensive, time-consuming, disruptive to our operations and resources, and distracting to management. In addition, certain actions may include claims for indeterminate amounts of damages. Our involvement in any such matter also could cause significant harm to our or our lending partners’ reputations and divert management attention from the operation of our business, even if the matters are ultimately determined in our favor. If resolved against us, legal actions could result in excessive verdicts and judgments, injunctive relief, equitable relief, and other adverse consequences that may affect our financial condition and how we operate our business.

In addition, a number of participants in the consumer financial services industry have been the subject of putative class action lawsuits, state attorney general actions and other state regulatory actions, federal regulatory enforcement actions, including actions relating to alleged unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices, violations of state licensing and lending laws, including state usury and disclosure laws, actions alleging discrimination on the

Some of our agreements used in the course of our business include arbitration clauses. If our arbitration agreements were to become unenforceable for any reason, we could experience an increase to our consumer litigation costs and exposure to potentially damaging class action lawsuits, with a potential material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

We contest our liability and the amount of damages, as appropriate, in each pending matter. The outcome of pending and future matters could be material to our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows, and could materially adversely affect our business.

In addition, from time to time, through our operational and compliance controls, we identify compliance issues that require us to make operational changes and, depending on the nature of the issue, result in financial remediation to impacted borrowers. These self-identified issues and voluntary remediation payments could be significant, depending on the issue and the number of borrowers impacted, and could generate litigation or regulatory investigations that subject us to additional risk.

We must comply with regulatory regimes or facilitate compliance with regulatory regimes on behalf of our lending partners that are independently subject to federal and/or state oversight by bank regulators, including those applicable to our referral and marketing services, consumer credit transactions, loan servicing and collection

Certain state laws generally regulate interest rates and other charges and require certain disclosures. In addition, other federal and state laws may apply to the origination, servicing and collection of loans originated on our platform,marketplace, and the purchase and sale of whole loans or asset-backed securitizations. In particular, certain laws, regulations and rules we or our lending partners are subject to include:

We may not always have been, and may not always be, in compliance with these and other applicable laws, regulations and rules. ComplianceAnd while compliance with these requirements is a business priority for us, it is also costly, time-consuming and limits our operational flexibility. Additionally, Congress, the states and regulatory agencies, as well as local municipalities, could further regulate the consumer financial services industry in ways that make it

Where applicable, we seek to comply with state broker, credit service organization, small loan, finance lender, servicing, collection, money transmitter and similar statutes. Nevertheless, if we are found to not comply

We use the internet to obtain application information and distribute certain legally required notices to applicants and borrowers, and to obtain electronically signed loan documents in lieu of paper documents with actual borrower signatures. These processes may entail greater risks than would paper-based loan origination processes, including risks regarding the sufficiency of notice for compliance with consumer protection laws, risks that borrowers may challenge the authenticity of loan documents, and risks that despite internal controls, unauthorized changes are made to the electronic loan documents. In addition, our software could contain “bugs” that result in incorrect calculations or disclosures or other non-compliance with federal or state laws or regulations. If any of those factors were to cause any loans, or any of the terms of the loans, to be unenforceable against the borrowers, or impair our ability to service loans, the performance of the underlying promissory notes could be adversely affected.

For auto loans issued through our auto lending marketplace, certain state laws may not allow for electronic lien and title transfer, which would require us to use a paper-based title process to secure title to the underlying collateral. While this process may help mitigate some of the risks associated with online processes, because it is highly manual and outside of our usual practices and titling rules can vary by state, we may be prone to errors and encounter greater difficulty complying with the proper procedures. If we fail to effectively follow such procedures we may, among other things, be limited in our ability to secure the collateral associated with loans issued through our auto lending marketplace.

Certain states have adopted laws regulating and requiring licensing by parties that engage in certain activities regarding consumer finance transactions, including facilitating and assisting such transactions in certain circumstances. Furthermore, certain states and localities have also adopted laws requiring licensing for consumer debt collection or servicing and/or purchasing or selling consumer loans. While we believe we have obtained or are in the process of obtaining all necessary licenses, the application of some consumer finance licensing laws to our AI lending marketplace and the related activities we perform, as well as to our lending partners, is unclear. In addition, state licensing requirements may evolve over time, including, in particular, recent trends toward increased licensing requirements and regulation of parties engaged in loan solicitation and student loan servicing activities. States also maintain licensing requirements pertaining to the transmission of money, and certain states may broadly interpret such licensing requirements to cover loan servicing and the transmission of funds to investors. If we or one of our lending partners were found to be in violation of applicable state licensing requirements by a court or a state, federal, or local enforcement agency, we could be subject to fines, damages, injunctive relief (including required modification or discontinuation of our business in certain areas), criminal penalties and other penalties or consequences, and the loans originated by our lending partners on our platformmarketplace could be rendered void or unenforceable in whole or in part, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

The CFPB, which commenced operations in July 2011, has broad authority to create and modify regulations under federal consumer financial protection laws and regulations, such as the Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z, ECOA and Regulation B, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Regulation V, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act and Regulation E, among other regulations, and to enforce compliance with those laws. The CFPB supervises banks, thrifts and credit unions with assets over $10 billion and examines certain of our lending partners. Further, the CFPB is charged with the examination and supervision of certain participants in the consumer financial services market, including short-term, small dollar lenders, non-bank mortgage originators and servicers, and larger participants in other areas of financial services. The CFPB is also authorized to prevent “unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices” through its rulemaking, supervisory and enforcement authority. To assist in its enforcement, the CFPB maintains an online complaint system that allows consumers to log complaints with respect to various consumer finance products, including the loan products offered on our loan products.marketplace. This system could inform future CFPB decisions with respect to its regulatory, enforcement or examination focus. The CFPB may also request reports concerning our organization, business conduct, markets and activities and conduct on-site examinations of our business on a periodic basis if the CFPB were to determine, through its complaint system, that we were engaging in activities that pose risks to consumers.

Although we have committed resources to enhancing our compliance programs, future actions by the CFPB (or other regulators) against us, our lending partners or our competitors could discourage the use of our services or those of our lending partners, which could result in reputational harm, a loss of lending partners, borrowers or institutional investors, in our loan funding programs, or discourage the use of our or their services and adversely affect our business. If the CFPB changes regulations that were adopted in the past by other regulators and transferred to the CFPB by the Dodd-Frank Act, or modifies through supervision or enforcement past regulatory guidance or interprets existing regulations in a different or stricter manner than they have been interpreted in the past by us, the industry or other regulators, our compliance costs and litigation exposure could increase materially. This is particularly true with respect to the application of ECOA and Regulation B to credit risk models that rely upon alternative variables and machine learning, an area of law where regulatory guidance is currently uncertain and still evolving, and for which there are not well-established regulatory norms for establishing compliance.

The current presidential administration has appointed and is expected to continue to appoint consumer-oriented regulators at federal agencies such as the CFPB, Federal Trade Commission,the FTC, the OCC and the FDIC and the government’s focus on enforcement of federal consumer protection laws is expected to increase. It is possible that these regulators could promulgate rulemakings and bring enforcement actions that materially impact our business and the business of our lending partners. If future regulatory or legislative restrictions or prohibitions are imposed that affect our ability to offer certain of our products or that require us to make significant changes to our business practices, and if we are unable to develop compliant alternatives with acceptable returns, these restrictions or prohibitions could have a material adverse effect on our business. If the CFPB, or another regulator, were to issue a consent decree or other similar order against us, this could also directly or indirectly affect our results of operations.

Our compliance and operational costs and litigation exposure could increase if and when the CFPB or another agency amends or finalizes any proposed regulations, including the regulations discussed above or if the CFPB or other regulators enact new regulations, change regulations that were previously adopted, modify, through supervision or enforcement, past regulatory guidance, or interpret existing regulations in a manner different or stricter than have been previously interpreted.

We have, from time to time in the normal course of our business, received, and may in the future receive or be subject to, inquiries or investigations by state and federal regulatory agencies and bodies such as the CFPB, the FTC, state Attorneys General, the SEC, state financial regulatory agencies and other state or federal agencies or bodies regarding the Upstart platform,marketplace, including the marketing of loans for lenders, underwriting and pricing of consumer loans for our lending partners, our fair lending compliance program and licensing and registration requirements. We have addressed theseWhile we expect to address inquiries directlyor investigations and engagedengage in open dialogue with regulators. For example, following constructive and transparent discussions with the CFPB regarding the manner in which our platform operates in compliance withregulators, we cannot guarantee that a federal fair lending laws, we applied for and received a no-action letter from the CFPB that stated the CFPB had no present intent to recommend initiation ofor state regulator will not take supervisory or enforcement action against us with respect to ECOA as it pertains toin the use of our AI model to underwrite applicants for unsecured non-revolving credit. Underfuture. Since the terms of the 2020 no-action letter we were required to continue to share certain information with the CFPB regarding the updates to our model and the variables it considers, loan performance reports, the results of fair lending tests we conduct, and research we conduct to identify less discriminatory alternatives, as well as information on how our AI models expand access to credit for traditionally underserved populations. Upon Upstart’s request, such no-action letter was terminated in June 2022. While2022, we no longer enjoy the terminationprotection of the no-action letter removes the obligation to regularly share updates withwhich had provided that the CFPB wewould not take supervisory or enforcement action against us for a violation of ECOA. We intend to continue to pursue a transparent and cooperative relationship with the CFPB, which could involve sharing information about our models and other aspects of our business. It is also possible the CFPB may take supervisory or enforcement action against us in the future.

We have also received inquiries from state regulatory agencies regarding requirements to obtain licenses from or register with those states, including in states where we have determined that we are not required to obtain such a license or be registered with the state, and we expect to continue to receive such inquiries. Any such inquiries or investigations could involve substantial time and expense to analyze and respond to, could divert management’s attention and other resources from running our business, and could lead to public enforcement actions or lawsuits and fines, penalties, injunctive relief, and the need to obtain additional licenses that we do not currently possess. Our involvement in any such matters, whether tangential or otherwise and even if the matters are ultimately determined

We receive, transmit and store large volumes of personal information and other sensitive data, which may potentially include biometric data as defined by state law, from applicants and borrowers. Each lending partner can access information about their respective borrowers and declined applicants via daily loan reports and other reporting tools that are provided via the platform. For loan institutional investors, while we generally limit access to personal information, we do share some personal information about borrowers with certain institutional investors in our loan funding programs.investors. There are federal, state and foreign laws regarding privacy and the storing, sharing, use, disclosure and protection of personal information and sensitive data including those specific to biometric data. Specifically, cybersecurity and data privacy issues, particularly with respect to personal information, are increasingly subject to legislation and regulations to protect the privacy and security of personal information that is collected, processed and transmitted. For example, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley ActGLBA includes limitations on financial institutions’ disclosure of nonpublic personal information about a consumer to nonaffiliatednon-affiliated third parties, in certain circumstances requires financial institutions to limit the use and further disclosure of nonpublic personal information by nonaffiliatednon-affiliated third parties to whom they disclose such information and requires financial institutions to disclose certain privacy notices and practices with respect to information sharing with affiliated and unaffiliated entities as well as to safeguard personal borrower information. Privacy requirements under the GLBA are enforced by the CFPB, as well as the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, and under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, we and our lending partners are prohibited from engaging in unfair and deceptive acts and practices, or UDAP. For example, both the FTC and CFPB have relied on UDAP/UDAAP principles to increase enforcement of “dark patterns”, the definition of which varies but has been defined as “design features used to deceive, steer, or manipulate users into behavior that is profitable for an online service, but often harmful to users or contrary to their intent.”

At the state level, the California Consumer Privacy Act, or the CCPA, which went into effect on January 1, 2020, requires, among other things, that covered companies provide disclosures to California residents and afford such persons new abilities to opt-out of certain sales or retention of their personal information by us. Aspects of the CCPA and its interpretation remain unclear. In addition, California voters approved Proposition 24 in the November 2020 election to create the California Privacy Rights Act, or CPRA, which amends and purports to strengthen the CCPA and created a state agency, the California Privacy Protection Agency, or CPPA, to enforce privacy laws. The CPRA amendments create obligations relating to consumer data as of January 1, 2023 (with a one-year lookback), and enforcement beginning July 1, 2023. On July 8, 2022, the CPPA began the formal rulemaking process to draft regulations to implement the CPRA amendments.March 29, 2024. Following the enactment of the CCPA, in March 2021,certain states, including but not limited to Texas, Virginia, Colorado and Utah, have enacted, the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act of 2021, or VCDPA; in June 2021 Colorado enacted the Colorado Privacy Act, or CPA; in March 2022, Utah, enacted the Utah Consumer Privacy Act, or UCPA; and in May 2022, Connecticut enacted a similar law, An Act Concerning Personal Data Privacy and Online Monitoring, or CTDPA. The VCDPA went into effect on January 1, 2023, and the CPA and CTDPA both go into effect on July 31, 2023. The UCPA will go into effect December 31, 2023. Additionally, other U.S. states are proposing and enactingto enact, laws and regulations that impose obligations similar to the CCPA or that otherwise involve significant obligations and restrictions. While many of these laws include exemptions for information covered by the GLBA, and we therefore may be exempt from all or most obligations under many of these state privacy laws, some states may not provide for such exemptions, and such exemptions may not fully exempt us from compliance with state laws.

Many privacy and data security laws, such as the CCPA, apply to biometric data. However, some states have passed or are considering legislation that are biometric specific. For instance, in Illinois, the Biometric Information Privacy Act, (“BIPA”)or BIPA, specifically governs the collection, possession, and disclosure of biometric information or biometric identifiers. There has been a corresponding increase in litigation related specifically to state

Compliance with current and future borrower privacy data protection and information security laws and regulations could result in higher compliance, technical or operating costs. We cannot fully predict the impact of the CCPA, BIPA, or other privacy and data security state laws on our business or operations, but it may require us to further modify our data infrastructure and data processing practices and policies and to incur additional costs and expenses in an effort to continue to comply. Further, any actual or perceived violations of these laws and regulations may require us to change our business practices, data infrastructure or operational structure, address legal claims and regulatory investigations and proceedings and sustain monetary penalties and/or other harms to our business. We could also be adversely affected if new legislation or regulations are adopted or if existing legislation or regulations are modified such that we are required to alter our systems or change our business practices or privacy policies.

The regulatory framework for artificial intelligence and machine learning technology is evolving and remains uncertain. ItFor example, in April 2023, the FTC, DOJ, EEOC and CFPB released a joint statement on potential “threats” posed by artificial intelligence, such as contributing to discriminatory outcomes. Additionally, the CFPB published statements in May 2022 and September 2023 on the applicability of ECOA to artificial intelligence and machine learning underwriting models when generating adverse action notices. However, the language of ECOA remains unaltered. Therefore, it is possible that new laws and regulations will be adopted in the United States, or existing laws and regulations may be interpreted in new ways, that would affect the operation of our platformmarketplace and the way in which we use artificial intelligence and machine learning technology, including with respect to fair lending laws. Further, the cost to comply with such laws or regulations could be significant and would increase our operating expenses, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. For example, on March 29, 2021, the federal financial regulators issued a request for information to enable them to better understand how artificial intelligence and machine learning are utilized in financial services, and the information and views obtained could serve as a basis for future regulations.

The Investment Company Act contains substantive legal requirements that regulate the manner in which “investment companies” are permitted to conduct their business activities. In general, an “investment company” is a company that holds itself out as an investment company or holds more than 40% of the total value of its assets (minus cash and government securities) in “investment securities.” We believe we are not an investment company. Our business involves developing and operating an online lending marketplace that provides our lending partners

Exemptive orders provided by the SEC under the Investment Company Act may cease to be effective if the facts and analysis upon which they are based materially change or the recipient of the order fails to comply with conditions outlined in the order. It is possible that our business will change in the future in a way that causes the exemptive order to no longer apply to our business, either because the facts of how we conduct our business change or because we no longer meet the conditions outlined in the order. For example, the exemptive order limits the percentage of loans that we may retain, subject to certain conditions. Recently, in response to constrained loan funding, we have increased the percentage of loans retained by Upstart to support funding requirements of loans that would otherwise be held by institutional investors. If we continueare not able to increase the percentage of loans retained by us,

The IAA contains substantive legal requirements that regulate the manner in which “investment advisers” are permitted to conduct their business activities. We do not believe that we or our affiliates are required to register as an investment adviser with either the SEC or any of the various states, because our business consists of providing a platformmarketplace for consumer lending and loan financing for which investment adviser registration and regulation does not apply under applicable federal or state law. However, one of our affiliates, Upstart Network, Inc., has notice filed as an exempt reporting adviser with the state of California based on its limited activities advising a fund.

While we believe our current practices do not require us or any of our other affiliates or subsidiaries to register or notice file as an investment adviser, or require us to extend regulations related to Upstart Network, Inc.’s status as an exempt reporting adviser to our other operations, if a regulator were to disagree with our analysis with respect to any portion of our business, we or a subsidiary may be required to register or notice file as an investment adviser and to comply with applicable law. Registering as an investment adviser could adversely affect our method of operation and revenues. For example, the IAA requires that an investment adviser act in a fiduciary capacity for its clients. Among other things, this fiduciary obligation requires that an investment adviser manage a client’s portfolio in the best interests of the client, have a reasonable basis for its recommendations, fully disclose to its client any material conflicts of interest that may affect its conduct and seek best execution for transactions undertaken on behalf of its client. The IAA also limits the ways in which a company can market its services and offerings. It could be difficult for us to comply with these obligations without meaningful changes to our business operations, and there is no guarantee that we could do so successfully. If we were ever deemed to be in non-compliance with applicable investment adviser regulations, we could also be subject to various penalties, including administrative or judicial proceedings that might result in censure, fine, civil penalties, cease-and-desist orders or other adverse consequences, as well as private rights of action, any of which could materially adversely affect our business.

If our transactions withinvolving institutional investors in ourwho provide loan funding programsto our marketplace are found to have been conducted in violation of the Securities Act or similar state law, or we have generally violated any applicable law, our ability to obtain financing for loans facilitated through our platformmarketplace could be materially adversely affected, and we could be subject to private or regulatory actions.

Certain transactions in our loan funding programsinvolving institutional investors or related to acquisitions may rely or have relied on exemptions from the registration requirements of the Securities Act provided for in Regulation D or Section 4(a)(2)

If we are found to be in violation of state or federal law generally, we also may be limited in our ability to conduct future transactions. For example, we could in the future become ineligible to sell securities under Regulation D if we become subject to “bad actor” disqualification pursuant to Rule 506(d) of Regulation D. Under Rule 506(d), issuers are ineligible “bad actors” if they or certain related persons, including directors and certain affiliates, are subject to disqualifying events, including certain cease-and-desist orders obtained by the SEC. If we were subject to this or other “bad actor” provisions of the securities laws, we may not be able to continue sales of whole loans, fractional interests in loans, or asset-backed securities, or we could be subject to significant additional expense associated with making our offerings, which would adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are not currently registered with the SEC as a broker-dealer under the Exchange Act or any comparable state law. The SEC heavily regulates the manner in which broker-dealers are permitted to conduct their business activities. We believe we have conducted, and we intend to continue to conduct, our business in a manner that does not result in our being characterized as a broker-dealer, based on guidance published by the SEC and its staff. Among other reasons, this is because we do not believe we take any compensation that would be viewed as being based on any transactions in securities in any of our business lines. To the extent that the SEC or its staff publishes new or different guidance with respect to these matters, we may be required to adjust our business operations accordingly. Any additional guidance from the SEC staff could provide additional flexibility to us, or it could inhibit our ability to conduct our business operations. There can be no assurance that the laws and regulations governing our broker-dealer status or that SEC guidance will not change in a manner that adversely affects our operations. If we are deemed to be a broker-dealer, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which would adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. We may also be subject to private litigation and potential rescission of certain investments investors in our loan financing products have made, which would harm our operations as well.

Similarly, we do not believe that our sales of whole loans and asset-backed securities will subject us to broker-dealer registration in any state in which we operate, primarily because we do not accept compensation that we believe could be viewed as transaction-based. However, if we were deemed to be a broker-dealer under a state’s securities laws, we could face civil penalties, or costly registration requirements, that could adversely affect our business.

We maintain a compliance program designed to enable us to comply with all applicable anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing laws and regulations, including the Bank Secrecy Act and the USA PATRIOT Act and U.S. economic sanctions laws administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control. This program includes policies, procedures, processes and other internal controls designed to identify, monitor, manage and mitigate the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing and engaging in transactions involving sanctioned countries, persons and entities. These controls include procedures and processes to detect and report suspicious transactions, perform borrower due diligence, respond to requests from law enforcement, and meet all recordkeeping and reporting requirements related to particular transactions involving currency or monetary instruments. During 2020, we failed to file timely reports of suspicious transactions as required with appropriate regulatory agencies. We

Our loan securitizations and sales of asset-backed securities are subject to regulation under federal law, and banks and other regulated financial institutions acquiring and holding asset-based securities, including asset-backed securities sponsored by us, are subject to capital and leverage requirements. These requirements, which are costly to comply with, could decrease investor demand for securities issued through our securitization transactions. For example, the Credit Risk Retention rule, codified as Regulation RR under the Exchange Act, was jointly adopted by the SEC, the Department of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2014. Regulation RR generally requires the sponsor of asset-backed securities to retain not less than five percent of the credit risk of the assets collateralizing the securities, and generally prohibits the sponsor or its affiliate from directly or indirectly hedging or otherwise selling or transferring the retained credit risk for a specified period of time, depending on the type of asset that is securitized. Some aspects of these risk retention rules have not been the subject of significant separate guidance. We believe, but cannot be certain, that we have conducted our business, and will continue to conduct our business, in such a way that we are compliant with these risk retention rules. However, if we have failed to comply, or should fall out of compliance with these rules, it could adversely affect our source of funding and our business.

We may also face regulatory risks related to compliance with Section 13 of the Bank Holding Company Act, commonly known as the “Volcker Rule,” which prohibits banking entities from acquiring an ownership interest in entities that are investment companies for purposes of the Investment Company Act, or would be investment companies but for Sections 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act, which are generally known as “private funds.” This means that in order for a banking entity regulated under the Volcker Rule to purchase certain asset-backed securities issued by our affiliates, such affiliates may need to rely on another exemption or exception from being deemed “investment companies” if they wish to continue selling to banking entities. Currently, those affiliates generally rely on Rule 3a-7 under the Investment Company Act, which provides an exclusion to the definition of an investment company for issuers that pool income-producing assets and issue securities backed by those assets. However, if a regulator or other third party were to find or assert that our analysis under Rule 3a-7 (or, where applicable, some other exemption or exemption) is incorrect, banks that have purchased asset-backed securities may be able to rescind those sales, which would adversely affect our business. We believe, but cannot guarantee, that we have conducted our business, and will continue to conduct our business, in such a way that enables our applicable banking entity investors to be compliant with the Volcker Rule.

We, through our warehouse trust special purpose entities, have entered into warehouse credit facilities to partially finance the purchase of loans from certain lending partners that originate loans through our platform,marketplace, which credit facilities are secured by the purchased loans. We generally hold these loans on our balance sheet until we can contribute them into term securitization transactions or otherwise liquidate them. Occasionally some of these loans may stay on our balance sheet indefinitely, including some loans that are the result of product development activities.

Under our warehouse credit facility for unsecured personal loans (the “ULT Warehouse Credit Facility”), we may borrow from an aggregate of $175.0$250.0 million financing capacity, $75.0 million of which $100.0 million is committed and

Our warehouse credit facilities impose operating and financial covenants on the applicable warehouse trust special purpose entity, and under certain events of default, the applicable lender could require that all or a portion of our outstanding borrowings become immediately due and payable or terminate their respective agreement with us. We have in the past, and may in the future, fail to comply with certain operating or financial covenants in our warehouse credit facilities, requiring a waiver from our lenders. If we are unable to repay our obligations at maturity or in the event of default, the applicable borrowing warehouse trust special purpose entity may have to liquidate the loans held as collateral at an inopportune time or price or, if the lender liquidated the loans, such warehouse trust would have to pay any amount by which the original purchase price exceeded their sale price. An event of default would negatively impact our ability to purchase loans from our marketplace and require us to rely on alternative funding sources, which might increase our costs or which might not be available when needed. If we were unable to arrange new or alternative methods of financing on favorable terms, we might have to curtaillimit our loan funding, programs, which could have an adverse effect on our lending partners’ ability or willingness to originate new loans or our ability to use leverage for the loans we hold, which in turn would have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our unsecured senior corporate debt currently has no rating. Asset-backed securities sponsored or co-sponsored by us are currently rated by a limited number of credit rating agencies. Structured finance ratings reflect these rating agencies’ opinions of our receivables credit performance and ability of the receivables cash flows to pay interest on a timely basis and repay the principal of such asset-backed securitizations, as well as our ability to service the receivables and comply with other obligations under such programs, such as the obligation to repurchase loans subject to breaches of loan-level representations and warranties. Such ratings also reflect the rating agencies’ opinions of other service providers in such transactions, such as trustees, back-up servicers, charged-off loan purchasers and others.

AnyOur asset-backed securities have been subject to downgrades in the past, and any future downgrade or non-publication of ratings may increase the interest rates that are required to attract investment in such asset-backed securities, adversely impacting our ability to provide loan liquidity or financing to our lending partners and whole loan purchasers. As a result, ourinstitutional

We may continue to make investments to support our business growth and may require additional funds to respond to business challenges, including the need to develop new loan products, enhance our AI models, supplement loan funding, improve our operating infrastructure, acquire complementary businesses and technologies, or make strategic investments. Accordingly, we may need to engage in equity, debt or convertible debt financings to secure additional funds. If we raise additional funds by issuing equity securities or securities convertible into equity securities, our stockholders may experience dilution. For example, if we elect to deliver shares of our common stock to settle the conversion (other than paying cash in lieu of delivering any fractional share) of the Notes (as defined below), it may have a dilutive effect on our stockholders’ equity holdings. Further, debt financing, if available, may involve covenants

If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or on terms satisfactory to us when we require it, we may pursue alternate transactions or be unable to pursue certain business opportunities and our ability to continue to support our business growth and to respond to business challenges could be impaired and our business may be harmed.

In addition, in August 2021, we issued $661.3 million aggregate principal amount of 0.25% convertible senior notes due 2026, or Notes (including the exercise in full of the initial purchasers’ option to purchase an additional $86.3 million aggregate principal of additional Notes). Holders of the Notes may require us to purchase all or a portion of their Notes upon the occurrence of a fundamental change before the maturity date at a fundamental change repurchase price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Notes to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any. Additionally, upon conversion of the Notes, unless we elect to deliver solely shares of our common stock to settle such conversion (other than paying cash in lieu of delivering any fractional share), we will be required to make cash payments in respect of the Notes being converted. Moreover, we will be required to pay the Notes in cash at their maturity unless earlier converted, redeemed or repurchased. However, we may not have enough available cash or be able to obtain financing at the time we are required to make repurchases of the Notes surrendered therefor or pay cash for Notes being converted or at their maturity. In addition, our ability to repurchase the Notes or to pay cash upon conversions of the Notes may be limited by law, by regulatory authority or by agreements governing our future indebtedness at the time. Our failure to repurchase Notes at a time when the repurchase is required by the indenture or to pay any cash payable on future conversions of the Notes as required by the indenture would constitute a default under the indenture. A default under the indenture or the fundamental change itself could also lead to a default under agreements governing our other existing or future indebtedness. If the repayment of the related indebtedness were to be accelerated after any applicable notice or grace periods, we may not have sufficient funds to repay the indebtedness and repurchase the Notes or pay cash with respect to Notes being converted or at maturity of the Notes.

If a fundamental change occurs prior to the maturity date of the Notes, holders of the Notes will have the right, at their option, to require us to repurchase all or a portion of their Notes. In addition, if a make-whole fundamental change occurs prior to the maturity date of the Notes, we will in some cases be required to increase the conversion rate for a holder that elects to convert its Notes in connection with such make-whole fundamental change in the manner specified in the indenture. Furthermore, the indenture will prohibit us from engaging in certain mergers or acquisitions unless, among other things, the surviving entity assumes our obligations under the Notes. These and other provisions in the indenture could deter or prevent a third party from acquiring us even when the acquisition may be favorable to you.

As of December 31, 2022,2023, a valuation allowance has been recorded to recognize only deferred tax assets that are more likely than not to be realized in the United States federal, state and statelocal tax jurisdictions. Our net deferred tax assets are primarily related to net operating loss carryforwards, or NOLs. We assess the available positive and negative evidence to estimate if sufficient future taxable income will be generated to utilize the existing deferred tax assets. Certain of our deferred tax assets may expire unutilized or underutilized, which could prevent us from offsetting future taxable income.

We may also be limited in the portion of NOLs that we can use in the future to offset taxable income for U.S. federal and state income tax purposes. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or the Tax Act made broad and complex changes to U.S. tax law, including changes to the uses and limitations of NOLs. A lack of future taxable income would adversely affect our ability to utilize NOLs. In addition, under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, a corporation that undergoes an “ownership change” is subject to limitations on its ability to utilize its NOLs to offset future taxable income. Future changes in our stock ownership, including future offerings, as well as other changes that may be outside of our control, could result in additional ownership changes under Section 382 of the Code. Our NOLs may also be limited under similar provisions of state and local law.

We continue to assess the realizability of our deferred tax assets in the future. Future adjustments in our valuation allowance may be required, which may have a material impact on our quarterly and annual operating results.

We are subject to taxes in the United States under federal, state and local jurisdictions in which we operate. The governing tax laws and applicable tax rates vary by jurisdiction and are subject to interpretation and macroeconomic, political or other factors. For example, the results of U.S Presidential and Congressional elections may lead to tax law changes. We may be subject to examination in the future by federal, state and local authorities on income, employment, sales and other tax matters. While we regularly assess the likelihood of adverse outcomes from such examinations and the adequacy of our provision for taxes, there can be no assurance that such provision is sufficient and that a determination by a tax authority would not have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Various tax authorities may disagree with tax positions we take and if any such tax authorities were to successfully challenge one or more of our tax positions, the results could adversely affect our financial condition. Further, the ultimate amount of tax payable in a given financial statement period may be impacted by sudden or unforeseen changes in tax laws, changes in the mix and level of earnings by taxing jurisdictions, or changes to existing accounting rules or regulations. For example, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, enacted on August 16, 2022, imposes a one-percent non-deductible excise tax on repurchases of stock that are made by U.S. publicly traded corporations on or after January 1, 2023, which may affect our share repurchase program. In addition, effective as of January 1, 2022, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act requires research and experimental expenditures attributable to research conducted within the United States to be capitalized and amortized ratably over a five-year period. Any such expenditures attributable to research conducted outside the United States must be capitalized and amortized over a 15-year period. Accordingly, the determination of our overall provision for income and other taxes is inherently uncertain as it requires significant judgment around complex transactions and calculations. As a result, fluctuations in our ultimate tax obligations may differ materially from amounts recorded in our financial statements and could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations in the periods for which such determination is made.

The application of indirect taxes, such as sales and use tax, value-added tax, digital services tax, digital advertising tax, business tax, gross receipts tax, and other similar tax to platform and financial technology businesses is a complex and evolving issue. Many of the fundamental statutes and regulations that impose these taxes were established before the adoption and growth of the Internet and e-commerce. Significant judgment is required on an ongoing basis to evaluate applicable tax obligations and as a result amounts recorded are estimates and are subject to adjustments. In many cases, the ultimate tax determination is uncertain because it is not clear how new and existing statutes might apply to our business. In addition, proposed or newly enacted laws regarding indirect tax could increase our compliance obligation. Any failure by us to prepare for and to comply with the reporting and record-keeping obligations could result in penalties and other sanctions, and could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We have faced, and may face in the future, various indirect tax audits in various U.S. jurisdictions. Tax authorities may raise questions about or challenge or disagree with our calculation, reporting or collection of taxes and may require us to collect taxes in jurisdictions in which we do not currently do so or to remit additional taxes and interest, and could impose associated penalties and fees. Although we have reserved for potential payments of past tax liabilities on our financial statements, a successful assertion by one or more tax authorities could result in substantial tax liabilities in excess of such reserves as well as penalties and interest, and could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

As a result of these and other factors, the ultimate amount of tax obligations owed may differ from the amounts recorded in our financial statements and any such difference may adversely impact our results of operations in future periodsyears in which we change our estimates of our tax obligations or in which the ultimate tax outcome is determined.

The trading price of our common stock may be volatile and could be subject to fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. These fluctuations could cause you to lose all or part of your investment in our common stock. Factors that could cause fluctuations in the trading price of our common stock include:

The stock market in general has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of listed companies. Broad market and industry factors may seriously affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. In the past, following periods of volatility in the overall market and the market prices of particular companies’ securities, securities class action litigation has often been instituted against these companies. For example, in May 2022, June 2022 and July 2022, we and certain of our officers were sued in purported class action lawsuits alleging violations of the federal securities laws for allegedly making materially false and misleading statements about our business, operations, and prospects. This litigation could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our management’s attention and resources, which could harm our business. We may be the target of additional litigation of this type in the future as well.

Although our Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program that does not have an expiration date, the program does not obligate us to repurchase any specific dollar amount or to acquire any specific number of shares of our common stock. We cannot guarantee that the program will be fully consummated or that it will enhance long-term stockholder value. The timing and number of shares repurchased under the program will

In connection with the issuance of the Notes, we entered into privately negotiated capped call transactions with certain financial institutions as counterparties. The capped call transactions initially cover, subject to customary adjustments, the number of shares of our common stock initially underlying the Notes. The capped call transactions

From time to time, the counterparties or their respective affiliates may modify their hedge positions by entering into or unwinding various derivatives with respect to our common stock and/or purchasing or selling our common stock or other securities of ours in secondary market transactions prior to the maturity of the Notes (and are likely to do so during any observation period related to a conversion of the Notes or following any repurchase of the Notes). This activity could also cause or prevent an increase or a decrease in the market price of our common stock.

Our directors, officers, and each of our stockholders who own greater than 5% of our outstanding capital stock and their affiliates, in the aggregate, beneficially own a significant portion of the outstanding shares of our capital stock. As a result, these stockholders, if acting together, are able to influence matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including the election of directors and the approval of mergers, acquisitions, or other extraordinary transactions. They may also have interests that differ from yours and may vote in a way with which you disagree and which may be adverse to your interests. This concentration of ownership may have the effect of delaying, preventing or deterring a change of control, could deprive our stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their common stock as part of a sale, and might ultimately affect the trading price of our common stock.

The market price of our common stock could decline as a result of sales of a large number of shares of our common stock in the market, and the perception that these sales could occur may also depress the market price of our common stock. Certain stockholders are entitled, under our investors’ rights agreement, to require us to register shares owned by them for public sale in the United States. In addition, we may file a registration statement to register shares reserved for future issuance under our equity compensation plans. As a result, subject to the satisfaction of applicable exercise periods, the shares issued upon exercise of outstanding stock options will be available for immediate resale in the United States in the open market.

Sales of our shares may make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate. These sales also could cause the trading price of our common stock to fall and make it more difficult for you to sell shares of our common stock.

Investors in our common stock own a form of equity that may provide returns based on either an increase in the value of the stock or any distributions made to common stockholders. Investors will not, however, receive any interest in or fees based on the loans or other assets we hold on our balance sheet. In particular, investors in our common stock will not receive any distributions directly based on principal or interest payments made by borrowers on the loans we hold. Those loans are not directly related in any way to the common stock investors’ purchase.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes us to issue 618,740,324613,669,697 shares of authorized but unissued common stock and rights relating to common stock for the consideration and on the terms and conditions established by our Board of Directors in its sole discretion, whether in connection with acquisitions or otherwise. We have reserved 5,842,0576,420,703 shares for issuance under our 2020 Equity Incentive Plan subject to adjustment in certain events. Any common stock that we issue, including under our 2020 Equity Incentive Plan or other equity incentive plans that we may adopt in the future, could dilute the percentage ownership held by the investors in our common stock.

Under U.S. tax laws, employment tax withholding and remittance obligations for restricted stock units, or RSUs arise in connection with their vesting. To fund the tax withholding and remittance obligations arising in connection with the vesting of RSUs, we use the “sell-to-cover” method, under which shares with a market value equivalent to the tax withholding obligation are sold by a broker on behalf of the holder of the RSUs upon vesting to cover the tax withholding liability and the cash proceeds from such sales will beare subsequently remitted by us to the taxing authorities. The tax withholding due in connection with such RSU vesting is based on the then-current value of the underlying shares of our common stock. Such sales do not result in the expenditure of additional cash by us to satisfy the tax withholding obligations for RSUs, but do cause dilution to our stockholders and, toRSUs. To the extent a large number of shares are sold in connection with any vesting event, such sales volume may cause our stock price to fluctuate.

Our status as a Delaware corporation and the anti-takeover provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law may discourage, delay, or prevent a change in control by prohibiting us from engaging in a business combination with an interested stockholder for a period of three years after the person becomes an interested stockholder unless certain conditions are met, even if a change of control would be beneficial to our existing stockholders. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws contain provisions that may make the acquisition of our company more difficult, including the following:

These anti-takeover defenses could discourage, delay, or prevent a transaction involving a change in control of our company. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for stockholders to elect directors of their choosing and to cause us to take other corporate actions they desire, any of which, under certain circumstances, could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our capital stock, and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.

Our amended and restated bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, stockholders, officers, or other employees to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, or our amended and restated bylaws, or (iv) any other action asserting a claim that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine shall be the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if the Court of Chancery does not have jurisdiction, another state court in Delaware or the federal district court for the District of Delaware), in all cases subject to the court having jurisdiction over the claims at issue and the indispensable parties; provided that the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act.

Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all such Securities Act actions. Accordingly, both state and federal courts have jurisdiction to entertain such claims. To prevent having to litigate claims in multiple jurisdictions and the threat of inconsistent or contrary rulings by different courts, among other considerations, our amended and restated bylaws also provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. We note, however, that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder, and that there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce this exclusive forum provision. Further, the enforceability of similar choice of forum provisions in other companies’ governing documents has been challenged in legal proceedings, and it is possible that a court could find these types of provisions to be inapplicable or unenforceable. For example, in December 2018, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware determined that a provision stating that U.S. federal district courts are the exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act is not enforceable. Although this decision was reversed by the Delaware Supreme Court in March 2020, other courts may still find these provisions to be inapplicable or unenforceable.

Any person or entity purchasing, holding or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our securities shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to this provision. This exclusive-forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum of its choosing for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or other employees, which may discourage lawsuits against us and our directors, officers, and other employees. This exclusive forum provision does not apply to any causes of action arising under the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal or other courts have exclusive jurisdiction. If a court were to find either of the exclusive-forum provisions in our amended and restated bylaws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving the dispute in other jurisdictions, which could harm our results of operations.

The trading market for our common stock will depend in part on the research and reports that equity or industry analysts publish about us or our business. The analysts’ estimates are based upon their own opinions and are often different from our estimates or expectations. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our common stock or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the price of our securities would likely decline. If few securities analysts commence coverage of us, or if one or more of these analysts cease coverage of us or fail to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our securities could decrease, which might cause the price and trading volume of our common stock to decline.

As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, the listing requirements of the Nasdaq Global Select Market and other applicable

Being a public company also makes it more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced coverage, incur substantially higher costs to obtain coverage or only obtain coverage with a significant deductible. These factors could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified executive officers and qualified members of our Board of Directors, particularly to serve on our audit committee and compensation committee.

In addition, changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure are creating uncertainty for public companies, increasing legal and financial compliance costs and making some activities more time-consuming. These laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. We invest resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards, and this investment may result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management’s time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. If, notwithstanding our efforts, we fail to comply with new laws, regulations and standards or our efforts differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to their application and practice, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us, and our business may be adversely affected.

We have never declared nor paid cash dividends on our capital stock. We currently intend to retain any future earnings to finance the operation and expansion of our business, as well as to fund our share repurchase program, and we do not expect to declare or pay any dividends in the foreseeable future. In addition, the terms of our existing corporate debt agreements do, and any future debt agreements may, preclude us from paying dividends. As a result, capital appreciation of our common stock, if any, will be the only way for stockholders to realize any future gains on their investment for the foreseeable future.

Our corporate headquarters are located in San Mateo, California and Columbus, Ohio and consist of 108,015 square feet and 54,870 square feet of space, respectively, under leases that expire in February 2028 and June 2027, respectively. In addition to our headquarters, we lease 233,573146,024 square feet of office space for origination and servicing operations in Columbus, Ohio expiring in August 20322029 and we lease 12,493 square feet of office space in Austin, Texas expiring in February 2028.

We lease all of our facilities and do not own any real property. We intend to procure additional space in the future as we add employees and expand geographically. We believe our facilities are adequate and suitable for our current needs and that, should it be needed, suitable additional or alternative space will be available to accommodate our operations.

Our common stock has been traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “UPST” since December 16, 2020. Prior to that date, there was no public trading market for our common stock.

As of February 8, 2023,2024, we had 159160 holders of record of our common stock. Because many of our shares of common stock are held in street name by brokers and other nominees on behalf of stockholders, we are unable to estimate the total number of beneficial owners of our common stock represented by these holders of record.

We have never declared nor paid cash dividends on our capital stock and we do not expect to declare or pay any dividends in the foreseeable future. Any future determination to declare cash dividends will be made at the discretion of our Board of Directors, subject to applicable laws, and will depend on a number of factors, including our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, contractual restrictions, general business conditions, and other factors that our Board of Directors may deem relevant.

The following table presents information with respect toThere were no repurchases of the Company’s repurchases of common stock under our share repurchase program, on a trade date basis, during the three months ended December 31, 2022: