<div id="readability-page-1"><div id="ArticleBody-InlineImage-108236192"><div><div>Amazon gift cards are offered for sale at a Walgreens store on December 03, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois.Scott Olson | Getty Images</div></div></div><div>Slope, a lending startup that uses artificial intelligence to vet businesses, is partnering with Amazon starting Tuesday to provide a reusable line of credit to Amazon sellers, backed by a JPMorgan Chase credit facility, the company told CNBC exclusively. The new relationship means eligible U.S. Amazon vendors can apply for and access capital directly through their Amazon Seller accounts with real-time approvals. Slope was co-founded by CEO Lawrence Lin Murata, who said said he saw the ups and downs of running a small business while he was growing up in São Paulo.Lin Murata helped his parents at their family's toy shop, which they've been running for more than three decades. As he gained more insight into the finances of the business, he said he realized that cash flow was a large pain point for his parents and other small businesses. That led him to start Slope, an AI-powered lending platform backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and JPMorgan Chase, with co-founder Alice Deng.&#34;Leveraging AI, we're able to underwrite these businesses, and we're able to handle all the complexity of assessing the risk for a business,&#34; Lin Murata said. &#34;At the same time, [we're] providing a very easy, real-time experience to them.&#34;The lines of credit will start at an 8.99% APR, according to Slope, and require vendors to be in business for at least one year with more than $100,000 in annual revenue. Once approved, Amazon sellers can draw from the line as needed and choose a term ranging from three months to a year to align repayment with their inventory cycle. Scope did not disclose the financial aspects of its deal with Amazon.&#34;Most people don't realize that sellers, independent sellers, are kind of the backbone of Amazon and e-commerce in general,&#34; Deng told CNBC. &#34;More than 60% of Amazon's sales are driven by independent sellers.&#34;Deng said Slope is filling a gap with the new partnership. Currently, Amazon sellers can use some third parties to access capital, though Deng said those initiatives are more focused on smaller sellers, while Slope is focused on mature sellers, some of whom reach hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and require bank-grade financing. Deng said when Amazon did its own lending around four years ago, the total addressable market was between $1 billion and $2 billion. With Slope taking over the program, the company expects that number to grow. &#34;We're excited about our work with Slope, which expands the financing tools available to Amazon selling partners,&#34; an Amazon spokesperson told CNBC. &#34;Whether they are just starting out or looking to grow, access to sufficient capital is a critical need for small business owners, and we're always evaluating new ways to empower sellers to thrive in the Amazon store.&#34;With Slope's new deal, sellers can take a few minutes directly on Amazon Seller Central to apply for capital and get approved almost instantly, using proprietary Amazon performance data and Slope's in-house large language model, Lin Murata said.&#34;That is one of the reasons why we're able to give a more compelling offer than if you were outside of the Amazon dashboard,&#34; Lin Murata said. &#34;And then we give real-time decisions, so we analyze Amazon performance, data, and cash flow in real time.&#34;It's a process that the Slope co-founders said is easier, faster and more integrated than having to apply for loans at banks as a small business. With the granular data that Amazon provides, like a breakdown of sales by product, they said the AI model is able to make a more informed decision on financing than a bank would based on overall financial documents.With the new deal, Amazon joins a growing slate of Slope's customers, which already include Samsung, Alibaba, Ikea and more. Deng and Lin Murata said the company has trialed the new Amazon integration, and though the trial has been live for just a few weeks, the pair said it's seen significant demand and applications growing 300% week over week.&#34;Going back to the initial inspiration of my parents, I think we want to be the credit intelligence layer for these businesses,&#34; Lin Murata said. &#34;Ultimately, what we're really doing is helping these businesses grow by giving them fair, affordable, fast and very easy access to different forms of financing.&#34;</div></div>

AMZN

AMZU

Slope, an AI lending platform backed by JPMorgan Chase and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has announced a partnership with Amazon to provide a reusable line of credit to Amazon sellers. This collaboration allows eligible U.S. Amazon vendors to access capital directly through their Amazon Seller accounts with real-time approvals. The initiative aims to support mature sellers with bank-grade financing, leveraging AI for risk assessment and offering competitive credit terms. The partnership is expected to expand the financing tools available to Amazon sellers, enhancing their growth opportunities.

- Slope, an AI-driven lending startup, is partnering with Amazon to offer a reusable line of credit to eligible U.S. sellers, with approvals provided in real-time through their Amazon Seller accounts.  
- The program targets established sellers with a minimum of $100,000 in annual revenue, aiming to fill financing gaps for mature sellers, while leveraging proprietary Amazon performance data for better risk assessment.  
- This partnership is expected to expand financing options for Amazon sellers, as Slope anticipates significant growth in demand, evidenced by a 300% increase in applications during early trials.

Startup backed by Altman, JPMorgan announces capital lending partnership with Amazon