05-06-2025
Exclusive: OatFi nabs $24M for embedded B2B credit
OatFi, a startup providing an embedded working capital financing infrastructure, has raised $24 million in Series A funding, CEO Michael Barbosa tells Axios exclusively.
How it works: OatFi partners with AP, AR, and B2B payment platforms to embed financing into invoice and payment workflows.
Its APIs handle underwriting, origination, and capital deployment, which allows platforms to offer net terms and early payouts within their core systems.
"We're building this credit layer that supports B2B payments, because a B2B payment is inherently a credit transaction," Barbosa says.
The big picture: By standardizing embedded credit as a core part of B2B transactions, OatFi hopes to unlock liquidity for platforms, buyers, and suppliers.
"The problem isn't so much the movement of the money; it's the workflow that sits on top of the movement of the money," Barbosa says.
State of play: Embedded credit is becoming table stakes across B2B commerce and fintech infrastructure, with platforms like Square, Stripe, and Shopify already offering working capital to merchants based on payment flows.
Meanwhile, standalone fintech lenders like Pipe, Parafin, and Settle target embedded lending through platform partnerships or direct integrations.
Yes, but: Instead of bolting on a merchant cash advance product using payment data, OatFi embeds a full credit infrastructure inside AP and AR workflows, underwriting each transaction and funding it from its own warehouse lines.
"Many are taking this classic, generation-one MCA strategy. That's very much not what we do," Barbosa says.
Case in point: OatFi powers embedded financing for procurement tools like freight-forwarding platforms like Koverly, and spend management players like Cledara.
By the numbers: The NYC-based company now works with over 20 partner platforms and says it has processed more than $500 million in total payment volume since launching in mid-2022.
Zoom in: White Star Capital led the Series A round, which included participation from existing investors QED, Portage, and Lorimer Ventures.
