Key Takeaways
- AI fintech startup Affiniti has successfully raised a new round of funding.
- The investment, led by SignalFire, is aimed at developing “AI CFO” agents for small businesses.
- These AI tools will offer specific financial advice tailored to different industries.
- Affiniti hopes to simplify complex financial tasks for the nation’s 33 million small businesses.
A fintech startup, Affiniti, is working on an innovative solution for small businesses: an AI agent designed to function like a Chief Financial Officer. The company believes this technology could become essential for millions of entrepreneurs.
Affiniti recently secured Series A funding to advance its vision of an “AI CFO,” Business Insider has learned. SignalFire led the investment round.
Other participants in the funding include Contrarian Thinking Capital, Sequel, Indicator Ventures, Lightshed Ventures, and RiverPark Ventures. Angel investors like Rocket Money founder Yahya Mokhtarzada, Morning Brew founder Austin Rief, and Chelsea Football Club player Trevoh Chalobah also contributed.
Founded in 2021 and based in New York, Affiniti focuses on small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). These businesses form the backbone of the U.S. economy, representing 99.9% of all companies, employing nearly half the workforce, and contributing significantly to the GDP, according to the Chamber of Commerce.
Affiniti co-founders Aaron Bai and Sahil Phadnis saw a gap in the market. They believed SMBs often lack the necessary tools for tracking expenses, managing savings, and using financial analytics to make informed decisions.
The duo plans to launch Affiniti’s initial products in November 2024: an expense management platform and a small-business credit card. Phadnis noted that for many early customers, Affiniti was their first interaction with fintech. Many also lacked dedicated finance teams and sought tech solutions for CFO-level tasks.
The rise of AI agents in Silicon Valley sparked a new idea for Affiniti. They aim to create an “AI CFO” capable of managing a company’s complete financial picture, from banking and bill payments to sales and more.
Phadnis explained to Business Insider that Affiniti’s AI is being developed to understand various industries. This will allow it to offer precise financial guidance to SMBs in sectors like healthcare, finance, and automotive.
“Understanding what’s going on in AI across verticals has allowed us to stay innovative,” Phadnis said. He mentioned using AI to help pharmacies with financial planning and employing large language models to analyze business financial health.
AI agents have been adopted more slowly in the heavily regulated finance sector compared to areas like sales and advertising. However, other startups are also exploring AI for financial research.
Looking ahead, Phadnis stated that Affiniti will concentrate on acquiring customers and leveraging data. “We believe the real power of AI agents lies in the data they’re trained on,” he remarked. Their goal is to become the primary financial platform for SMBs, enabling them to build the most accurate AI CFO for each industry they serve.
