ORANGE COUNTY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 29, 2026--
Kaizen AI Lab today launched enviRŌNment Lending, a loan origination and servicing platform for private lenders, hard money shops and business-purpose mortgage originators, priced on the number of loans a lender runs rather than the number of people who log in.
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Every subscription includes unlimited user accounts. Loan officers, processors, underwriters, servicers, accountants, and capital partners can all be given access without changing the bill. Subscriptions are month-to-month, with no annual contract and no per-seat licensing, and the platform is actively running with lending users.
The platform runs the full loan lifecycle in one system: intake, underwriting, document generation, closing, boarding, payment processing, payoffs, and investor reporting. A loan that closes on Friday is boarded and accruing on Monday, with no export, no import, and no second vendor. It was built for the loans private lenders write, including fix-and-flip, bridge, construction, rental, and DSCR, commercial, and business-purpose mortgages.
The lender configures the AI layer rather than the vendor. It reads title commitments, entity documents, insurance binders, and bank statements, flags exceptions before funding, and syncs with the accounting, CRM, e-sign, and document systems a lender already runs.
Kaizen AI Lab has appointed Rishi Khan as Head of Development. His background spans high-level government compliance, cybersecurity, international banking security software, and NASA-level compliance standards.
Kaizen brings its leadership team to the product. Chief Executive Officer Don Ho is an attorney with a background in private lending and real estate planning law. Chief Growth Officer Brandwyn Boyle has spent 11 years in private lending, following an earlier career in SaaS.
“Private lenders are held to real regulatory standards, and their software should be built by people who have worked under them. We had compliance and legal in the room from the first architecture decision, not after the first audit.”
Don Ho, Chief Executive Officer, Kaizen AI Lab
About Kaizen AI Lab
Kaizen AI Lab is a California-based applied AI company. Its first product, enviRŌNment Lending, is origination and servicing software for private, hard money, and business-purpose mortgage lenders. enviRŌNment Lending is available now at environmentlending.com
Origination Dashboard
PUERTO SAN CARLOS, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Polo pummeled the Mexican state of Baja California Sur with powerful winds and rain as it made landfall Tuesday, leaving coastal areas flooded and streets littered with fallen trees.
The Category 2 hurricane struck land just south of Las Barrancas, Mexico, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Cabo San Lazaro with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph).
About 700 people remained in shelters Tuesday. But they were expected to return to their homes, and no serious damage or deaths were immediately reported, according to authorities.
By mid-day Tuesday, Polo made a second landfall and weakened to become a tropical storm as it moved inland through the Mexican state of Sonora after crossing the Gulf of California.
Remnants of the storm were expected to track northeastward, adding to heavy rains already bringing floods to parts of the U.S. Southwest.
Forecasters warned north-central New Mexico, including Albuquerque and Santa Fe, could feel the brunt of the complex tropical system, with as much as 3 to 4 inches (about 8 to 10 centimeters) of rain through Wednesday and possibly more.
After Polo passed over the small fishing town of Puerto San Carlos on the Baja California peninsula, residents waded among downed trees through ankle-high water that flooded some homes. Seeing their roughened community largely intact brought relief to those who had prepared for the worst.
Shopkeeper Elbia María Bachomo, 40, picked through furniture strewn through her home. She and her three children had gathered their clothes quickly and left for a shelter Monday as water began flooding into their home.
Her husband was out on the water fishing for sardines when Polo hit. Bachomo said he was fortunate to escape alive.
“I thought, ‘Oh no, what are we going to come back to? We will be left with nothing.’ But we were lucky,” she said.
Polo was expected to produce 6 to 12 inches (about 15 to 30 centimeters) of rain across parts of Baja California Sur.
Forecasters predicted Polo would hit the Mexican mainland with life-threatening winds and flash floods. Sonora officials suspended all “nonessential” activities, including school, sports and nonessential work in the state capital and more than a dozen municipalities.
Meanwhile, the hurricane center reported Tropical Storm Rachel was moving parallel to Mexico's coast early Tuesday. The storm was about 265 miles (425 kilometers) southwest of Lazaro Cardenos with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (105 kph). It was moving west-northwest at 13 mph (20 kph).
Bands of rain continued to sweep across the U.S. Southwest on Tuesday, causing desert rivers to surge and usually dry arroyos to rage with floodwater. Nearly all of the region was under flood watches as the complex system of tropical weather — with Polo the main event — spread northeast from Mexico.
“Definitely looking at the chances for urban flooding,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Carter Greulich in Albuquerque. “Don’t drive through flooded roadways. Remain out of the arroyos, especially in our urban areas.”
The system made a brisk pass through Phoenix early Tuesday, dumping up to 2 inches (5 centimeters) of rain before tapering. North of the city, a truck was swept away in a wash in the New River area. The driver got out safely, Maricopa County sheriff’s officials said.
The rocky, desert area typically gets less than 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain annually with little vegetation to soak it up, making flash flooding a perpetual risk.
Near Zion National Park in Utah, the East Fork of the Virgin River raged with chocolate floodwater seen carrying a shipping container downstream.
In the small town of Orderville, Utah, where flooding began Monday night, Sabrina Dubay was driving home when her partner called and told her to stay away.
“The river came in and swept around the entirety of our house,” Dubay said, adding that her partner told her, “We’re about to lose everything.”
A camper, snowmobile trailer, and other items from Dubay’s yard were swept away by the river. Neighbors and friends arrived to dig a trench around the house as the water rose around their home.
“It was coming in through our front doors,” she said.
Flooding also was reported in southern New Mexico. An unusually soggy September across the region set the stage: When the ground is saturated, rainfall has nowhere to go but run off.
“Runoff is likely going to start much quicker and lead to those flooding impacts quicker,” Greulich said.
Forecasters said the flood risk would move into parts of the central U.S. beginning late Tuesday and into Wednesday. Starting late Wednesday, widespread heavy rain was expected to hit the Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio areas. Life-threatening flash flooding was possible, with low-lying areas especially vulnerable.
Parts of west Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa were under flood watch through Thursday, with some areas expecting up to 5 inches (13 centimeters) of rain.
In the central Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Nolo remained a dangerous Category 3 hurricane on Tuesday as it edged away from Hawaii after drenching parts of the Big Island over the weekend.
Pacific storm activity has been above average during what is already the peak of hurricane season. That pattern is consistent with El Niño years, when the Pacific often sees more tropical storms and hurricanes.
Nolo was about 270 miles (435 kilometers) south-southeast of French Frigate Shoals with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph) moving north, at 9 mph (15 kph).
The hurricane was approaching Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, a marine conservation area, according to the hurricane center.
Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Eduardo Verdugo in Puerto San Carlos, Mexico, Julie Walker in New York, Mead Gruver in Fort Collins, Colorado, Mikella Schuettler in Phoenix, Sarah Raza in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Eugene Garcia and Gregory Bull in Hilo, Hawaii, contributed to this report.
An uprooted tree lies on the ground after the passing of Hurricane Polo in Puerto San Carlos, Baja California Sur state, Mexico, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
A resident retrieves belongings from their home that was damaged by Hurricane Polo in Puerto San Carlos, Baja California Sur state, Mexico, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Vehicles drive in the rain on the I-10 with Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) warning signs displayed along the route, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
A man carries items through floodwater past downed electric lines after the passing of Hurricane Polo in Puerto San Carlos, Baja California Sur state, Mexico, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
A resident enters his home surrounded by water brought by Hurricane Polo in Puerto San Carlos, Baja California Sur state, Mexico, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Workers pull a boat to shore as Hurricane Polo approaches Puerto San Carlos, Baja California Sur state, Mexico, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
People evacuate their homes as Hurricane Polo approaches Puerto San Carlos, Baja California Sur state, Mexico, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Residents are evacuated by the Army as Hurricane Polo approaches Puerto San Carlos, Baja California Sur state, Mexico, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
People evacuate their homes as Hurricane Polo approaches Puerto San Carlos, Baja California Sur state, Mexico, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
Workers pull a boat to shore as Hurricane Polo approaches Puerto San Carlos, Baja California Sur state, Mexico, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
