Mavi bets on the AI boom creating demand for a new kind of accountant
Accounting staffing company Mavi emerges from stealth with $4million in funding.
Molly Liu and Aman Puri are tackling the U.S. accounting shortage from a global perspective with their AI-powered talent marketplace Mavi, founded in 2023. The service enables U.S. companies to quickly onboard top AI-proficient financial and accounting talent from around the world within days. Liu, co-CEO of Mavi, highlighted the challenges facing the U.S. accounting industry today, including a shrinking profession and a lack of AI fluency among remaining professionals.
She noted that many U.S. companies are hesitant to work with global talent due to complexity and concerns about quality. Liu emphasized that Mavi addresses these issues by helping companies manage the complexities of hiring global talent, such as cross-border contracts, legal compliance, and payroll. The company focuses on finding full-time, long-term placements for mid-level and senior-level positions to augment in-house finance teams.
Liu's experience at companies like Ramp, Lyft, and Dropbox led her to realize that automation cannot solve all accounting problems, as AI will eliminate many entry-level roles, leaving a shortage of experienced talent. She observed that the more AI tools a company adopts, the more pressure is placed on senior roles, requiring them to add reasoning skills.
Liu explained that an AI-proficient accountant possesses strong finance and accounting fundamentals and the ability to direct AI tools, apply judgment to correct errors, integrate LLMs into workflows, and work with the latest AI-native ERPs and tools. In contrast, a traditional accountant has accounting fundamentals but only a basic understanding of AI incorporation.
Mavi has raised $4 million in seed funding led by Harlem Capital and currently has over 3,000 accounting professionals on its platform, with enterprise clients including the personal care company Athena Club. Liu stated that the company's focus is on high-skill talent and the new layer of judgment essential for finance teams and all business functions to operate at the next level.
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