Upstart, an AI-based lending platform, has announced a $50 million equity investment from Progressive Investment Co., Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan and First National Bank of Omaha. Upstart also has signed a lending partnership with FNB Omaha, according to a press release.

Upstart said its lending product will become part of the Progressive portfolio of Advantage Products. The company also announced that it signed lending partnerships with two additional banks, including First Federal Bank of Kansas City and Accion Chicago, which will use the Upstart technology as a white-label lending platform.

"We started on this journey because credit is not just a cornerstone of our economy but a fundamental ingredient in the lives of Americans," Dave Girouard, co-founder and CEO of Upstart and a former president of Google Enterprise, said in the release. "For hundreds of years, credit has represented opportunity and mobility for those seeking what's next in their lives."

Upstart has originated more than $3.3 billion in loans over the past five years. The company said that 60 percent of its loans so far in 2019 have been entirely automated and approved in real time.

Upstart said it will use the new funding to provide additional forms of credit; the company recently launched two Mastercard offerings, including a classic card and a rewards card with the BankMobile division of Customer Bank, an existing partner, according to the release.