Rocket Mortgage continues push into AI with Instabase partnership

The number of homebuyers who enjoy the process of getting a mortgage might be able to be counted on one hand. And while taking out a six- or seven-figure loan is probably never going to be fun, Rocket Mortgage has a plan to at least make it easier.

The country’s largest mortgage lender announced a partnership on Tuesday with Instabase, an artificial intelligence (AI) company that specializes in unstructured data. The idea is for Instabase to help extract unstructured data that’s buried in loan documents and allow for further automation of the lending process.

According to Rocket, the partnership will help the company build its speed in closing loans, which it claims is already two-and-a-half times faster than the industry average.

“Rocket Mortgage is committed to transforming every experience with AI, making the historically tedious process of applying for a mortgage easier than ever,” Andrew Colunga, Rocket’s vice president of digital product management, said in a statement.

Mortgage companies are increasingly looking for ways to leverage the rapidly expanding world of artificial intelligence, and Rocket has been one of the most aggressive in doing so.

In April, Rocket launched a patented AI-driven platform designed to process 90% of the data extracted from documents and reduce the number of human interactions with a mortgage.

In May, the company hired former Intel executive Shawn Malhotra as its first chief technology officer. It also recently added chief marketing officer Jonathan Mildenhall and Affirm co-founder Alastair Rampell as a board member.

Rocket CEO Varun Krishna told HousingWire last month that the company is launching Synopsis, a generative AI tool that can interpret conversations between loan applicants and Rocket employees to provide a bespoke, personalized experience.

Like a lot of people, mortgage industry professionals worry that the adoption of AI will lead to the elimination of jobs and fewer opportunities. Dan Vasquez, Rocket’s lead AI strategist, addressed the topic with HousingWire earlier this month.

“[AI] might give you tips, it might give you new information, it might give that all to you faster, but it’s still your responsibility to make the right decision,” Vasquez said. “And we’re not taking that away from humans right now.”

Like many mortgage companies in an environment with fewer home sales, Rocket has struggled to maintain profitability, but the company believes AI will help it to overcome headwinds in the industry.

“With Instabase and several other proprietary AI and automation processes integrated into our technology ecosystem, we have shaved several days off the amount of time it takes our clients to close on a home purchase, decreasing turn times by 25% and getting them the keys to their new home faster,” Colunga said.