SoFi Technologies, Inc. is an American financial technology company. It was founded in 2011 to refinance student loans for Stanford University graduates. SoFi operates as a direct bank serving retail customers and businesses, and is the largest U.S.-based online lender. It has nearly 16 million customers as of 2026. In its initial years, SoFi focused on providing student loans, using data science to assess risk and offer lower interest rates. It later expanded to personal loans, mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, stock investing, insurance, estate planning, and bank accounts. SoFi was the first fintech startup company to receive a U.S. banking license, and the first U.S. national bank to offer cryptocurrency trading and issue its own stablecoin on a public blockchain.