D.R. Horton, Inc. becomes investor and enterprise customer in landmark mortgage tech deal

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Tidalwave, an agentic AI-powered mortgage point-of-sale (POS) platform, today announced a $22 million Series A funding round led by Permanent Capital, with participation from D.R. Horton, Inc., the nation’s largest homebuilder, and a follow-on from Engineering Capital. This brings Tidalwave’s total funding to $24 million.

The average mortgage takes 43 days to close and requires hundreds of manual data entry tasks across disconnected systems, a process that has changed little despite a decade of supposed digital transformation. This inefficiency costs lenders money and frustrates borrowers who expect the speed they get from other financial services. Tidalwave solves this with agentic AI, specialized autonomous software agents that handle end-to-end mortgage tasks like verification and underwriting with minimal manual oversight. Freddie Mac research1 shows lenders that deploy digital automation tools can reduce origination costs by $1,500 per loan while improving profit margins and customer satisfaction. Tidalwave’s direct integrations with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac deliver instant underwriting verifications, while integrations with Plaid, Argyle, and Truv enable real-time income, employment, and asset verification.

With this funding, Tidalwave is poised to accelerate adoption, powering more than 200,000 loans annually, equivalent to roughly 4% of the $1.46 trillion in U.S. mortgage originations projected for 2026, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Over the last six months, industry leaders including NEXA Lending, First Colony Mortgage, and Mortgage Solutions have adopted Tidalwave’s AI platform to streamline applications, cut approval times, and engage borrowers in a radically simpler, paperwork-free flow.

“The mortgage industry has long been reliant on disjointed tools and manual intervention, leading to costly delays and errors,” said Diane Yu, CEO and co-founder of Tidalwave. “With this new funding, we’re supercharging the buildout of intelligent AI agents, allowing us to get these tools into the hands of lenders and borrowers faster than ever. By accelerating adoption, we’re not only making the mortgage process more efficient, we’re also ensuring that every stakeholder, from loan officers to homebuyers, experiences the tangible benefits of real, scalable AI in action.”

"After evaluating all companies in this category, Tidalwave stood out for its powerful application of real AI to solve a massive, industry-wide problem," said Jason Duboe, new Tidalwave board member and Co-founder/Managing Partner of Permanent Capital. “Their technology is already delivering measurable impact, and we are confident in their vision to transform the mortgage landscape.”

“This partnership represents an alignment of vision, innovation, and execution. Both of our companies share the goal of advancing the mortgage process through AI by empowering our people and providing powerful new tools to enhance quality and efficiency. Over the past few months, we’ve had the privilege of working closely with Diane Yu and her team and we are confident that together we will transform lending for years to come,” said Mark Winter, CEO of DHI Mortgage, a subsidiary of D.R. Horton, Inc.

For more information, please visit www.tidalwave.com.

About Tidalwave:

Tidalwave is an agentic AI company dedicated to eliminating bottlenecks in the mortgage process. Its platform accelerates homeownership by automating outdated workflows with intelligent automation and direct integrations with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , and verification partners including Plaid, Argyle, and Truv. Through these integrations, Tidalwave enables lenders to access real-time income, employment, and asset verification at the point of application, reducing paperwork, minimizing errors, and dramatically shortening processing times. Borrowers also benefit from AI-powered guidance, including tailored support for Spanish speaking clients, ensuring a simpler and more accessible loan experience. For more information, visit www.tidalwave.com.

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12024 Freddie Mac study found that lenders utilizing digital tools at higher rates originate loans that are $1,500, or 14%, less costly than their peers, generate positive net margins, and achieve shorter production cycles and higher customer satisfaction.

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Source: Tidalwave