In a pivotal move toward revolutionizing B2B payment solutions, Slope, the AI-powered startup headquartered in San Francisco, has announced a triumphant $30 million equity funding round. Spearheaded by Union Square Ventures, this investment round also boasts the participation of Sam Altman, the CEO and co-founder of OpenAI. Slope’s innovative approach to B2B payments seeks to create an industry benchmark, with a system fueled by cutting-edge AI technology, including their proprietary SlopeGPT, designed to ensure seamless transactions and mitigate risks.
Slope, the two-year-old AI startup, is making waves in the world of B2B payments as it secures $30 million in equity funding. Led by renowned investor Fred Wilson’s Union Square Ventures and with the backing of Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, the funding not only signifies a significant milestone for Slope but also underscores the immense potential of AI-powered solutions in the B2B payments landscape.
Slope’s vision of B2B payment transformation
Lawrence Lin Murata, the CEO, and co-founder of Slope, underlined the critical importance of efficient B2B payment systems. He drew from his own background, rooted in his family’s wholesale business in Brazil, to emphasize that in the B2B sphere, the ability to swiftly access funds and make payments to vendors is paramount to sustaining operations.
Slope’s robust technology addresses the entire spectrum of the B2B customer payments journey, from onboarding to risk assessment and reconciliation. Alice Deng, co-founder, and chief product officer of Slope, highlighted the comprehensiveness of their platform, explaining that it encompasses every aspect of the B2B customer payments journey, from customer onboarding and risk assessment to reconciliation and everything in between.
What sets Slope apart is its commitment to delivering transparency and visibility in B2B payment workflows. With Slope Timeline, customers gain real-time insights into payment and product shipping statuses. Deng elaborated on the enhanced visibility provided by Slope, noting that it enables both the buyer and the seller to have precise real-time awareness of their current stage down to the millisecond. This real-time visibility addresses the traditional uncertainty that plagues B2B transactions.
At the core of Slope’s approach lies the importance of clean data. Deng underscored that despite being an AI company, Slope’s primary specialization revolves around maintaining data integrity and quality. Slope collaborates closely with enterprise customers to collect and format data about their orders, ensuring that it powers their platform effectively.
SlopeGPT to redefine risk assessment
SlopeGPT, introduced in April, plays a pivotal role in assessing B2B buyers’ creditworthiness and fraud risk. This tool employs OpenAI’s GPT to analyze transaction and purchase order data, identifying regular payments and anomalies. By detecting suspicious activities and potential fraud, SlopeGPT minimizes risks for sellers and customers alike.
Lin Murata outlined the capacity of Slope to identify and address various anomalies within B2B transactions. These anomalies could include fraudulent activities, identity misrepresentation, information theft from other businesses, and deliberate efforts to manipulate cash flow, ultimately allowing Slope to proactively prevent problematic payments. The power of GPT in this context was harnessed through the analysis of Slope’s own 2.5 million bank transactions over 18 months.
In addition to SlopeGPT, the company has also developed its proprietary Large Language Model (LLM), trained on public data, further enhancing its risk identification capabilities. The LLM is set to be released soon, promising even more accurate risk assessment for Slope’s enterprise customers.
A Promising future for AI-powered B2B payments
With this $30 million funding injection, Slope aims to continue expanding its team and technology, reinforcing its mission to transform the landscape of B2B payments. As the business world increasingly relies on AI-driven solutions, Slope’s innovative approach stands at the forefront of this evolving industry, setting new standards for secure and efficient B2B transactions.
