Slash Financial raises $100M at $1.4B valuation

Slash Financial, which offers business banking accounts, corporate credit cards, transfers, and crypto, has secured a $100 million Series C round. A Series C round represents a late-stage venture capital round that companies typically raise to scale their business operations. This latest funding round values the company at $1.4 billion. The company announced that the funding round was led by fintech-focused venture capital firms alongside returning institutional investors who had previously backed the company.

The investment round features the following institutional participants:

• Ribbit Capital (Lead investor)
• Khosla (Lead investor)
• Goodwater Capital (Lead investor)
• NEA (Returning investor)
• Y Combinator (Returning investor)

The company was founded about five years ago by CEO Victor Cardenas and CTO Kevin Bai. According to a report by Bloomberg, both co-founders were 19 years old at the time of founding and are now 24 years old. The founders originally dropped out of college to build a fintech company specifically focused on sneaker resellers. However, the startup’s trajectory changed when its former main customer, Yeezy, encountered severe difficulties. This turmoil occurred after Yeezy’s founder, Kanye West, spewed antisemitic remarks. In response to the fallout, the co-founders initially pivoted the business to focus on a few select industry verticals before transitioning the platform again.

In his blog post about the funding raise, Cardenas recounted the company’s evolution from its initial niche focus to its current generalist approach. “Now, the startup has become generalist, not targeting any one industry,” Cardenas, the CEO, stated.

Following its shift to a generalist model, Slash Financial has grown its operations to serve 5,000 companies as customers. The company reports that it is now generating $300 million in annualized revenue—a financial metric that projects a company’s current revenue over a full twelve-month period—and is operating profitably. Despite this growth, Slash Financial operates in a highly competitive business banking market. The company faces direct competition from players such as Ramp, which currently holds a $32 billion valuation, and Brex, which was recently acquired by Capital One.

Why it matters

Slash’s successful pivot from a niche vertical to a generalist fintech platform demonstrates the viability of adapting business models in response to market volatility, even when early growth is tied to controversial partners.