Underlying the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence technology is a question: Will AI eventually replace an accountant’s function? Vic.ai, a New York-based startup, is taking a different approach. The company wants to develop AI that helps humans — specifically accountants — perform better.
Its message resonates — the company just closed an $11.2 million Series A funding round, led by GGV Capital with participation from new investor Costanoa Ventures and seed round lead investor Cowboy Ventures. Jeff Richards, managing partner of GGV Capital, will join the Vic.ai board of directors; and Vic.ai plans to accelerate the growth of its team with top-tier engineering, product development, support, sales and marketing staff.
“We’re building Vic.ai for accountants,” said Alexander Hagerup, founder and CEO of Vic.ai, in a statement. “We believe accountants and accounting firms are tremendously important and are going to be around for a long time so we are building the best AI platform to augment their work and at the same time helping them defend their business model against the looming threats of technological disruption.”
Vic.ai went live last year, reporting approximately 30 accounting firms signing on as customers within the first eight months. The largest customer, according to the company, has more than 4,000 clients processing 1.2 million invoices per year. In total, the platform has interpreted more than 150 million accounting documents and transactions.
“Every operational function within organizations is being re-imagined with artificial intelligence,” Hagerup added. “For accounting, this means the daily routine of accounting and finance professionals becomes much more professionally gratifying in addition to increased effectiveness and improved accuracy. We see a future where continuous accounting becomes a substantial competitive advantage supported by an AI ‘CFO’ that provides the leadership team with real financial foresight.”
Vic.ai also announced the opening of its third location, in South Florida, which is expected to open in Q4. The new location will build upon the company’s headquarters in Midtown Manhattan and its Oslo, Norway-based engineering and development team. Currently, Vic.ai is looking for individuals to join the company in all locations.
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