Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered lending platform Upstart (NASDAQ: UPST) touts a potential $4 trillion market opportunity. Considering it "only" saw $1.1 billion in loans transacted on its platform last quarter, this company should see exponential growth in its future. But Upstart isn't the first company that's attempted to disrupt and take share from a massive market before, and its business has taken a big step backward this year. 

However, patient investors should also see reasons to be optimistic, particularly if one thing can change for Upstart from here. 

Before we get into the thing that Upstart needs to unlock its potential, let's talk about what Upstart does. At its core, Upstart provides what it says is a better way to evaluate credit risk than the traditional tools, simultaneously giving lenders a way to make safer, more profitable loans, and to improve access to credit for millions of people. This is the ultimate potential "win-win" sort of business: Disrupting an industry that hasn't changed how it does things for many years, while providing something for all stakeholders that improves outcomes. 

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Source Fool.com