Slope, a financial technology company that uses artificial intelligence for business lending, announced a partnership with Amazon on Tuesday to provide lines of credit to third-party sellers in the U.S. The program allows eligible sellers to apply for financing directly through their Amazon Seller Central accounts, with the service backed by a credit facility from JPMorgan Chase.
Under the new arrangement, Amazon sellers who have been in business for at least one year with more than $100,000 in annual revenue can apply for a reusable line of credit. According to Slope, the process uses Amazon’s performance data and the company’s own AI models to underwrite the businesses in real time.
The company stated that the annual percentage rate for the credit lines will start at 8.99%. Once approved, sellers can draw funds as needed and select repayment terms ranging from three to 12 months to align with their business and inventory cycles.
In an interview with CNBC, Slope co-founder and CEO Lawrence Lin Murata said the use of AI allows the company to handle the complexity of assessing business risk while providing a straightforward user experience.
“Leveraging AI, we’re able to underwrite these businesses,” Lin Murata said. “At the same time, [we’re] providing a very easy, real-time experience to them.”
Lin Murata and co-founder Alice Deng stated that their platform’s integration with Amazon Seller Central makes the application process faster than applying for traditional business loans at banks. They said the AI model can make a more informed financing decision by analyzing granular data, such as sales breakdowns by product, which is available through the platform.
“More than 60% of Amazon’s sales are driven by independent sellers,” Deng told CNBC, adding that Slope aims to serve mature sellers who may require bank-grade financing.
An Amazon spokesperson provided a statement on the partnership. “We’re excited about our work with Slope, which expands the financing tools available to Amazon selling partners,” the spokesperson said. “Access to sufficient capital is a critical need for small business owners, and we’re always evaluating new ways to empower sellers to thrive in the Amazon store.”
According to the co-founders, a trial of the integration has been live for several weeks. They reported that demand has been significant, with applications growing 300% week over week during the trial period.
Slope, which counts OpenAI CEO Sam Altman as an investor, lists Samsung, Alibaba, and Ikea among its existing clients.
“Ultimately, what we’re really doing is helping these businesses grow by giving them fair, affordable, fast and very easy access to different forms of financing,” Lin Murata said.
