Flexbase Technologies aims to lure high net worth business owners into its product ecosystem with new AI-powered finance bots and private banking services, with aspirations of taking on American Express.
The company, known as Flex, said Thursday it had raised $60 million from investors, bringing to $105 million its total fundraising since the company launched in 2023.
The fresh funds will help the company build out artificial intelligence agents for finance functions within midsize companies and a private banking solution for wealthy entrepreneurs, Flex CEO and co-founder Zaid Rahman said Thursday in an interview.
New York-based Flex offers a platform for business owners to manage their personal and business finances; obtain credit; access enterprise resource planning software; and payment tools. The company tailors its offerings to entrepreneurs whose personal, family and business finances are typically commingled, Rahman said.
Businesses in this cohort tend to have annual sales of $3 million to $50 million, with incomes up to $20 million, Rahman said.
These business people operate as both the CEO and financial chief, without a formal finance team, he said. Most financial products in the market accommodate large corporations with enormous teams or small businesses with only basic needs, according to Flex. Very few offer a solution catering to the financial needs of people who own 100% of their own, midsized companies, Rahman contended.
Beyond software, Flex also issues credit cards. On Thursday, it began promoting a new invite-only “Flex Elite” credit card the company that it calls a direct competitor to American Express’ Centurion card, often referred to as the Amex Black Card. Flex plans to issue the card to customers with at least $500,000 of annual personal spending.
“We can build an army of AI agents to almost provide an enterprise-level finance team,” Rahman said. “And we can not only touch your business life, but what if we touched everything in your financial life, from the time you generate a single dollar of revenue to the time you spend it personally on your lifestyle?”
Flex has 90 employees, the CEO said. A Flex spokesperson declined to name any customers.
Earlier this year, the company began rolling out a Visa-branded Infinite business card with a variety of travel, dining and hotel amenities coupled with its business-specific attributes. Those include a 60-day interest-free payment period for purchases.
Flex’s more widely used business card is comparable to cards from larger fintechs like Brex, Mercury and Ramp, that offer features such as high credit limits and expense controls.
As for why a wealthy entrepreneur may choose Flex’s banking solution over the array of amenities from a large bank like Amex or Chase, Rahman says customers are seeking simplified solutions that can integrate all facets of their financial lives, including tax planning, portfolio management and expense allocation.
The banks “are not really good at software,” he said. “They’re giving you a piece of metal that when you swipe at the point of sale, the transaction should go through.”
Flex believes its platform will attract entrepreneurs because of the user experience and cohesive connectivity between different parts of their financial life, Rahman said.
The latest funding round was led by Portage, along with Crosslink Capital, Spice Expedition, Titanium Ventures, Wellington, Companyon Ventures, Florida Funders, FirstLook Partners and Tusk Venture Partners, the press release said.
Representatives for Portage, Crosslink, Companyon Ventures, Titanium Ventures, Tusk and Wellington did not return calls or emails seeking comment.
