Slope, a B2B payments platform specialising in order-to-cash workflow automation for enterprise companies, has concluded an additional financing round, raising $65m in equity and debt funding.
J.P. Morgan Payments participated in this financing round, alongside Y Combinator, Jack Altman, and Max Altman’s new fund, Saga.
With this latest round, Slope has raised a total of $252m, comprising $77m in equity and $175m in debt. The fintech company plans to utilise the funding to scale its operations, further expanding its services to some of the world’s largest enterprises.
Slope leverages artificial intelligence (AI) tools to provide order-to-cash automation, facilitating checkout processes, assessment of customer and vendor risks, embedded short-term financing, and reconciliation of payments.
Apart from the funding, J.P. Morgan Payments has selected Slope to offer clients access to a short-term financing solution. This extends payment terms for their business customers through Slope’s platform.
Slope will integrate into the J.P. Morgan Payments Partner Network, enhancing payment experiences with a range of third-party applications aimed at accelerating business growth. Additionally, J.P. Morgan Payments will extend a debt facility to support further scaling of Slope’s operations.
Founded in late 2021 by Lawrence Lin Murata and Alice Deng, Slope operates out of Silicon Valley. As part of its growth strategy and vision, Slope is launching SlopeAI, an underwriting platform designed for financial institutions and wholesalers seeking to streamline the onboarding, underwriting, and monitoring of their business clients.
Murata said: “We announced our round late last year and were not looking to raise additional capital. However, working closely with J.P. Morgan, one of the world’s largest banks, represented a unique opportunity.
“We are excited to join the J.P. Morgan Payments Partner Network, with the equity investment and debt facility helping to support future growth.”
J.P. Morgan Payments integrates treasury services, trade and working capital, and card and merchant services capabilities to facilitate global payments in various currencies for clients, whether to customers or employees.
J.P. Morgan Payments trade and working capital global head James Fraser said: “The U.S. embedded finance market is determined to be worth $20bn, with many corporates looking to implement solutions that reduce friction, streamline processes and support origination.
“Working with Slope, our team at J.P. Morgan Payments can help meet client demand by providing access to a financing solution that integrates directly into the point-of-sale, translating into higher conversion rates.
“By combining J.P. Morgan’s fortress balance sheet and depth of client relationships with Slope’s strengths in underwriting and credit risk monitoring as well as platform flexibility, we are a well-positioned partner to meet our clients’ needs in a rapidly evolving market.”
