Research
Human-AI R&D in financial services since 2017. Building Governed AI tools for licensed mortgage professionals in the era of OSFI E-23 and B-10.
AVA’s AI Research Journey
From Early Conviction to Governed AI — 2017 to Now
Early recognition of transformer architecture’s potential in financial services. Filed AI Credit® trademark in December 2017, weeks after encountering “Attention Is All You Need.” Trademark registered 2019.
Nine systematic R&D trials across 145 live commercial transactions totalling ~$150M. January 2023: the historic milestone — first known AI-generated credit writeup submitted, approved, and funded through the 75-year-old U.S. SBA 504 program.
AVA incorporated in Delaware (2023), redomiciled to Toronto as AVA Credit Inc. (2024). RAG experiments and lessons learned. The name AVA — Accelerated Virtual Analyst — coined in early 2023. Research papers published.
2025 — Perplexity AI Business Fellowship. Enterprise contract: TSX: DLCG Dominion Lending Centres — Canada’s first enterprise AI training pilot for mortgage professionals. Platform built at dlcg.io. Isaac AI agent deployed. 2026 — Governed AI tools for Canadian financial services under OSFI E-23 and B-10. AVA AI Workbench in active development.
AVA wasn’t built from a pitch deck. Eight years of experimentation at the intersection of AI and financial services — live transactions, failed experiments, a fellowship alongside the CEOs who are building the frontier — shaped a clear conviction: the most durable AI tools in regulated industries are Governed ones.
AVA Research began in 2020 with a simple question: how do experienced professionals actually work with AI to get better outcomes? Not in theory — in practice, under real conditions, with real stakes.
Over four years we conducted systematic trials across 145 commercial transactions totalling ~$150M. We documented what worked, what failed, and why. That body of knowledge is the foundation the AVA Workbench is built on.
OSFI’s E-23 guideline and B-10 third-party risk framework are reshaping how AI tools can be deployed in regulated financial services. Every tool in the Workbench is assessed against these frameworks — with logging, inventory, human-in-loop controls, and audit-ready documentation.
The research output flows directly into the Workbench. R&D validates the tools. The Workbench delivers them. That loop — build, validate, deploy, learn — is what makes Governed AI practical rather than theoretical.
AVA Research — Governed AI for Canadian Financial Services
AVA Research represents systematic human-AI R&D beginning in 2017 with the AI Credit® trademark. Nine trials across 145 commercial transactions totalling ~$150M (2020–2023). January 2023: first known AI-generated credit writeup submitted, approved, and funded through the U.S. SBA 504 program — SBA Loan #47353491-02. 2025 Perplexity AI Business Fellowship. AVA built and delivered AI Essentials for TSX: DLCG Dominion Lending Centres — Canada’s first enterprise-scale AI training pilot for mortgage professionals. 29 live sessions at dlcg.io, 2,271 professionals trained, 97% positive response rate. Isaac AI agent deployed at dlcg.io. RGI Framework™ enterprise-deployed. 2026 focus: Governed AI tools for licensed mortgage professionals under OSFI E-23 and B-10. AVA Workbench in active development. Toronto, Ontario, Canada.