AI finance startup Flex doubles valuation to about $1.2 billion, source says

July 14 : Flex, an AI startup pitching itself as a one-stop shop for the banking needs of mid-sized business owners, said it raised $70 million in a round led by Halo Fund, a venture firm co-founded by Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith and Accel partner Ryan Sweeney.The company did not disclose its valuation on Tuesday. A person close to the deal said the B1 round valued the three-year-old startup at around $1.2 billion, more than double its valuation six months ago.Flex has now raised $180 million in equity and $300 million in debt to target what CEO Zaid Rahman calls "jumbo shrimps" - mid-sized businesses earning tens to hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue that are overlooked by traditional fintechs and mainly served by regional banks."In the U.S., there are maybe 350,000 to 400,0