Why Mortgage Lenders Keep Failing at AI—and What the Winners Understand explores a hard truth facing the mortgage industry: most AI initiatives fail not because of lack of ambition, but because leaders misunderstand what AI actually requires to succeed. In this episode, David Lykken sits down with mortgage technologist Pavan Agarwal to unpack why short-term thinking, investor pressure, and “plug-and-play” AI promises are leading lenders down costly dead ends. Drawing on decades of real-world experience building mortgage technology the right way, they explain why patient capital, deep technical understanding, and a long-game mindset separate true innovators from expensive experiments—and why AI isn’t an LOS enhancement, but a fundamental reinvention of how mortgages are manufactured, managed, and de-risked.
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Pavan Agarwal is a renowned leader in the mortgage lending industry and a pioneer in bringing artificial intelligence to the financial markets. Agarwal serves as the President and CEO of Sun West Mortgage Company and Celligence International, LLC.