Interview With Rhim Shah, Co-Founder and CEO of Arva Ai
We feature a young, prominent entrepreneur and product leader in this edition of the founder spotlight: Rhim Shah, the Co-Founder and CEO of Arva AI, an AI-enabled business verification platform designed for banks and fintech.
Arva AI is pioneering AI-driven solutions for compliance workflows, particularly in Know Your Business (KYB) processes. The platform automates business verification, enhancing efficiency and reducing manual labor by up to 80%. With Arva AI, Rhim Shah aims to revolutionize compliance processes by leveraging AI to make business verification faster and more compliant. Rhim’s passion for harnessing AI to solve real-world problems has positioned Arva AI as a leader in compliance innovation, backed by notable investors, including Y Combinator and Gradient Ventures.
Get ready to be inspired by Rhim’s story and his impactful work in technology and finance!
Hello Rhim, welcome to the Founder Spotlight! What inspired you to co-found Arva AI? We’d love to hear all about the vision behind Arva AI and the mission that drives it!
I previously led the financial crime product team at Revolut Business. We had a large team of analysts doing 10s of thousands of reviews a day — it was extremely mundane and repetitive compliance work that was needed to onboard our customers. Given the advancements in AI models, and my background in ML, I set out to solve this problem using Generative AI. Our founding team was then accepted into Y Combinator and subsequently funded by Google’s early-stage AI fund, Gradient.
In what ways do you believe that Arva AI can fundamentally change the business verification landscape compared to traditional methods?
Arva AI revolutionizes business verification by leveraging Generative AI and advanced ML models to automate compliance tasks. Traditional methods are heavily reliant on manual reviews, which are time-intensive, error-prone, and costly. Arva AI replaces these inefficiencies with scalable, accurate, and real-time solutions that reduce operational costs by up to 80%. Features like document fraud detection, web presence analysis, and risk alert discounting ensure compliance processes are faster and more reliable, enabling businesses to onboard 10x more customers while adhering to stringent regulatory requirements.
Could you elaborate on Arva AI’s competitive advantages in the Know Your Business (KYB) market? Can you share specific examples of Arva AI’s fraud detection capabilities?
Arva AI’s competitive edge lies in its ability to integrate AI models seamlessly with compliance workflows. Unlike one-shot AI solutions, Arva employs a holistic approach involving data access, document ingestion, and human-like case evaluation, creating dependable outputs. Its fraud detection capabilities include identifying inconsistencies in submitted documents, analyzing web presence for verification and more. For example, Arva’s document fraud detection tool can spot falsified banks statements and compare the information to what is found online.
We’re eager to hear about your journey from Revolut to Arva! What inspired you to transition from your role at Revolut Business to founding Arva AI?
The inspiration stemmed from firsthand frustration at Revolut Business, where I led a team building back-office solutions for our compliance analysts. With advancements in AI and my background in ML, I recognized an opportunity to solve this problem at scale. Joining Y Combinator validated the idea, and Arva AI was born to transform compliance from a costly bottleneck into a streamlined enabler for growth.
How did your background in financial crime prevention help you navigate the early stages of building Arva AI? Looking back on your journey from Revolut to Arva AI, what are you most proud of achieving so far?
My experience at Revolut sharpened my understanding of compliance challenges, regulatory expectations, and operational pain points, which informed the design of Arva’s solutions. The milestones I’m most proud of include onboarding our first customer, securing investment from Google’s AI Fund, and achieving a 10x improvement in customer onboarding efficiency for our customers.
What were some of the initial challenges you faced when transitioning from a corporate environment like Revolut to launching a startup?
Moving from a structured corporate setup to the chaotic, high-stakes world of startups was challenging. Key hurdles included building a team from scratch, convincing early adopters to trust a young company, and balancing the development of robust AI models with real-world customer needs. These experiences taught me the importance of resilience, adaptability, and customer-centric innovation.
Congratulations on securing $3 million in funding! How will this funding impact Arva AI’s operations and growth?
The funding will accelerate product development, expand our AI capabilities, and hire more talent. It also enables us to scale operations in key markets like the UK, US, and Canada while exploring new features such as refining our own inbuilt vision models.
How do you believe Arva AI’s valuation compares to other fintech startups in the business verification space?
Arva AI’s valuation reflects its unique positioning in the KYB market, strong customer trust, and demonstrable ROI. Unlike many startups relying solely on hype, Arva has built a track record of delivering tangible value to clients, which sets us apart. Given our rapid growth and advanced tech, we are well-positioned as a leader in this space.
What additional features or expansions can users expect from Arva AI in the near future? Are there any upcoming innovations or features you’re particularly excited about and can share with us?
One feature we have just launched to our customers is using generative AI for discounting false positive screening hits. Another exciting development is enhancing real-time fraud detection with advanced vision models, enabling instant validation of submitted documents and entities. Additionally, we plan to expand into more regulated markets, offering tailored compliance solutions for diverse jurisdictions.
What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs looking to enter the fintech space, especially those focusing on compliance-related technologies?
Understand the problem deeply before building solutions—compliance is nuanced, and trust is paramount. Collaborate closely with industry stakeholders to design products that not only comply with regulations but also solve real pain points. Build for scalability, and don’t underestimate the importance of guardrails in AI-driven systems. Finally, leverage your network and seek mentorship, particularly in spaces like Y Combinator, where you can access invaluable resources and guidance.
