Casca Takes Home 2026 BIG Innovation Award in Financial Services Category

Casca Secures Prestigious BIG Innovation Award

On January 15, 2026, Casca announced with great pride that it has been recognized as a Banking and Financial Services Winner at the 2026 BIG Innovation Awards. This global recognition program highlights companies, products, and leaders who are revolutionizing industries through innovative applications, intelligent platforms, and measurable real-world impacts.

In remarks about the award, Russ Fordyce, Chief Recognition Officer at the Business Intelligence Group, stated, "The 2026 BIG Innovation Awards winners show that true innovation is no longer about chasing the latest buzzwords. It’s about building intelligent platforms, automating workflows with purpose, and making trust, privacy, and resilience the foundation of every breakthrough." This sentiment underscores the direction in which the banking sector is headed, revealing that organizations like Casca are not merely keeping up with the rapid changes occurring but are actual trailblazers shaping the future of global business.

Casca has made notable strides in innovation within the banking and financial services sector. Instead of merely tweaking outdated systems, the company has completely overhauled one of the industry's most cumbersome and sluggish processes: loan origination. By creating an AI-native platform from scratch, Casca has established an upgraded infrastructure that is capable of supporting responsible and automated workflows. This shift allows community banks and credit unions via Casca’s platform to process small business loans at speeds up to thirty times faster than conventional industry standards, turning processing times down to just one to four days.

Lukas Haffer, Casca's co-founder and CEO, expressed gratitude upon receiving this recognition. He remarked, "This award reflects a belief we've held from day one that responsible, well-designed technology can fundamentally improve access to capital for small businesses while strengthening the role of banks as trusted financial partners. Innovation, to us, means building systems that work in the real world and make a meaningful difference for the people who rely on them." This profound understanding of technology’s potential to alter the financial landscape is a major contributor to Casca’s success.

Additionally, Haffer himself was honored as an Innovative Individual during the awards. Under his leadership, Casca has transitioned from a nascent concept into one of the most impactful advancements in small business lending. A noteworthy moment in the company's journey occurred in 2025 when Casca successfully raised $29 million in a Series A funding round. The platform has attracted significant partnerships from notable financial entities such as Live Oak Bank, recognized as the leading U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 7(a) lender, Huntington National Bank, the largest SBA 7(a) loan originator by volume, and Bankwell Bank, Casca's inaugural customer.

This award places Casca among 159 other distinguished winners across sectors like health, financial services, logistics, manufacturing, and enterprise technology. One prominent takeaway from the 2026 BIG Innovation Awards is that innovation transcends the mere implementation of artificial intelligence. Instead, it is about how organizations strategically leverage AI to build effective platforms, automate workflows, and prioritize trust, privacy, and security as fundamental aspects of their mission.

For more information about the BIG Innovation Awards and to see the complete list of winners, visit Business Intelligence Group.

About Casca

Founded in 2023 by banking IT professionals and AI researchers from Stanford University, Casca is at the forefront of transforming the loan application and origination process using responsible AI technologies. The platform is now in use by several leading SBA lenders and FDIC-Insured banks. Supported by Y Combinator, Canapi Ventures, Peterson Ventures, Clocktower Ventures, The Fintech Fund, and Sarah Smith Fund, Casca continues to expand its influence in the financial industry. More details can be found at Cascading AI.

About Business Intelligence Group

The Business Intelligence Group was established to acknowledge genuine talent and superior business performance. They differ from other recognition programs by relying on evaluations from actual business leaders and practitioners. Their awards honor programs, products, and individuals that yield tangible excellence, rather than mere marketing narratives.