AI accounting startup Sterling raises $3.8m seed round
Sterling, which was founded just 10 months ago, develops software designed to automate routine finance and accounting work.
Wellington-based artificial intelligence startup Sterling has secured $3.8 million in seed funding, marking one of the larger funding rounds in New Zealand's technology sector in recent times. Founded just 10 months ago, Sterling develops software aimed at automating routine finance and accounting tasks. The recent funding round, led by trans-Tasman venture capital firm Blackbird and including alumni from companies like Xero, Vend, Pushpay and Trade Me, will aid the company's expansion in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States.
Sterling's CEO and co-founder, Nik Wakelin, explained that the company's software acts as an "autopilot" for finance teams, handling tasks from arrival of finance-related information to filing and prepping it for review. The idea for the company came from conversations with their wives, who are both accountants, and advances in generative AI have made it possible to automate tasks that previously necessitated human judgment.
Despite being a relatively new startup, Sterling has already been deployed to customers since March and has completed approximately 1200 hours of finance work. Clients include industries such as honey export, early childhood education, and insurance. Wakelin emphasized that securing backing from Blackbird and technology sector figures would aid the company's growth, stating their ambition to build a "generational technology company" building on the success of those that have come before them.
Written by urgent.news from RNZ Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
