AI startup Basis raises $34 million for accounting automation “agent.”

Written by Anna Tong

(Reuters) – Artificial intelligence startup Basis said on Tuesday it has raised $34 million in a Series A funding round for its AI-powered accounting automation product.

The round was led by Khosla Ventures. Other investors include NFDG, an AI-focused fund run by former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, former Apple executive Daniel Gross, OpenAI board members Larry Summers and Adam D’Angelo, and Google chief scientist Jeff Dean.

New York-based Basis is part of a class of AI startups that create autonomous agents, or systems that use artificial intelligence to perform actions on their own. Such systems will dominate the AI ​​agenda next year, as models have recently reached the point where they can perform long-term planning, industry executives such as Sarah Friar, CFO of OpenAI, said.

The Basis product, which they sell specifically to accounting firms, is capable of performing various workflow tasks such as entering transactions and double-checking data accuracy, and integrates with popular ledger systems such as Intuit’s QuickBooks and Xero, the company said.

Large accounting firms such as Wiss, which employs 450 accountants, have seen time reduced by up to 30% from using Basis, CEO Matt Harby told Reuters.

The product, which works as a junior accountant, allows staff accountants to spend their time reviewing the work of an AI agent, rather than doing the work manually, Harby said.

Keith Rabois, managing director of Khosla Ventures, told Reuters that Basis helps solve the current severe shortage of accountants, as baby boomers retire and younger generations choose to leave the profession.

This sector employs more than 3 million people in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But the number of candidates taking the annual CPA exam fell by 33% from 2016 to 2021, according to the International Association of Certified Professional Accountants.

Global accounting firms have historically dealt with this shortage by setting up shop in outsourcing centers such as India.

Accounting is also among the sectors most vulnerable to AI disruption. A 2023 OpenAI study concluded that significant automation based on language models could impact 100% of accountants and auditors’ tasks.

(Reporting by Anna Tong in San Francisco; Editing by Bill Berkrot)