AI Software Startup Model ML in Talks to Raise Over $100M at $1B+ Valuation

The signal here is less about Model ML than about where AI capital is concentrating: vertical software for regulated financial workflows, where banks have budget and compliance pressure but limited in-house build capacity. A nine-figure round at unicorn terms, still unclosed and reportedly open to oversubscription, suggests investors are willing to pay up for distribution into institutions rather than for horizontal AI. The open question is whether that appetite holds if the round lands at the high end, and whether incumbent data and software vendors respond by bundling similar tools.