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Flex Secures $60 Million to Power AI Treasury for Southeast Asian SMEs

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  Published in Business and Finance on Thursday, December 4th 2025 at 8:24 GMT by Channel NewsAsia Singapore

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AI‑Powered Finance Toolmaker Flex Secures $60 Million to Empower Mid‑Sized Businesses

A Singapore‑based fintech startup, Flex, has announced a landmark $60 million funding round aimed at expanding its suite of AI‑driven financial solutions for mid‑sized businesses across Asia. The move comes at a time when SMEs in the region are looking for smarter, faster ways to manage cash flow, secure working‑capital and reduce the administrative burden that traditionally weighs on their growth.

Who is Flex?

Founded in 2021, Flex positions itself as an “AI‑first treasury platform” that blends machine‑learning algorithms with real‑time financial data to give businesses an edge in cash‑flow forecasting, credit risk assessment and automated reconciliation. Its core product is a cloud‑based dashboard that pulls data from a company’s bank accounts, ERP systems and other accounting software, then applies predictive analytics to forecast liquidity needs and identify funding opportunities.

According to the company’s website, Flex was built by a team of ex‑Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Temasek alumni who were driven by the belief that the middle tier of the economy still relies heavily on manual spreadsheets and siloed financial systems. By leveraging AI, Flex claims it can “cut the time to decision from days to minutes, and reduce the need for manual data entry by up to 70 %.”

The Funding Round

Flex’s latest round was led by GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, with significant participation from Temasek and East Ventures, a regional venture capital firm that has backed fintechs such as GrabPay and ShopeePay. The round also attracted a number of high‑profile angel investors, including the former CEO of Lazada and a venture partner from Sequoia Capital.

The funds will be deployed across three key priorities:

1. Product Development – Enhancing the AI models that power cash‑flow forecasting, expanding the platform’s ability to integrate with a wider range of ERP and banking APIs, and building a “working‑capital marketplace” that matches businesses with lenders in real time.

2. Talent Acquisition – Hiring additional data scientists, software engineers and product managers to accelerate feature roll‑outs and support a projected 200 % user growth in the next 18 months.

3. Go‑to‑Market Expansion – Opening new offices in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta to tap into the fastest‑growing SME ecosystems in Southeast Asia, and forming strategic partnerships with regional banks such as OCBC, UOB and CIMB.

In a statement, Flex’s CEO, Zheng Li, said, “This capital infusion gives us the bandwidth to move from a niche product to a full‑blown platform that can serve the entire mid‑market segment. We’re excited to bring our AI technology to more businesses that need quick, data‑driven financial decisions.”

Market Context

The startup’s timing is significant. A recent report from the World Bank estimates that more than 70 % of SMEs in ASEAN rely on informal credit or have limited access to formal working‑capital financing. Traditional lenders often demand extensive documentation and credit history, processes that are slow and costly for smaller firms. Flex’s AI platform addresses these pain points by:

• Automating credit assessment using alternative data (e.g., payment history, supplier terms, and even social media sentiment in some pilot projects).
• Predicting short‑term liquidity gaps so companies can negotiate better credit lines or spot early warning signs of cash crunches.
• Providing a dashboard of funding options from banks, fintech lenders, and even institutional investors, all ranked by suitability and cost.

Industry analysts note that this AI‑enabled approach aligns with broader fintech trends that prioritize “FinTech as a Service” (FTaaS), where complex financial operations are offered as plug‑and‑play APIs. Competitors in the space include Tesorio, Kabbage, and SambaPay, all of which focus on digital lending and working‑capital tools. Flex differentiates itself by offering a single, unified platform that couples credit assessment, cash‑flow analytics and funding marketplace features.

Partnerships and Future Roadmap

Beyond the core product, Flex has already begun collaborations with two major banks in Singapore: DBS Bank and OCBC Bank. According to a joint press release linked in the article, the banks will pilot Flex’s “smart treasury” module in a controlled environment that serves 500 SMEs. The pilot aims to reduce the banks’ underwriting cycle by 40 % and improve loan recovery rates by integrating the platform’s predictive models.

Looking ahead, Flex plans to launch a “FinTech Accelerator” program for early‑stage fintech startups that need AI expertise and data access. In an interview with Channel News Asia, Li stated, “We see ourselves not just as a tool provider but as an ecosystem partner. By sharing our AI frameworks and data sets, we can help nurture the next generation of fintech solutions in the region.”

Bottom Line

Flex’s $60 million raise signals robust investor confidence in the viability of AI‑driven financial platforms for mid‑sized businesses. By combining advanced analytics with real‑time data connectivity, Flex is poised to transform how SMEs in Southeast Asia manage liquidity and secure financing. The company’s expansion plans, strategic bank partnerships, and focus on AI innovation position it as a major player in the evolving fintech landscape. If it delivers on its promises, Flex could become a critical bridge between traditional banks and the fast‑growing, digitally hungry mid‑market segment—an outcome that would resonate across the entire region’s economic fabric.