US-based enterprise software company ServiceNow, known for automating workflows such as IT service management and HR operations, is betting on an Indian banking software specialist to boost global financial services.
The company has invested 40 million dollars BusinessNextThe 24-year-old values the Indian firm at $700 million and takes about a 5% stake. The deal gives BusinessNext access to ServiceNow’s global sales network as the companies expand their partnerships in AI for financial services.
ServiceNow’s investment reflects BusinessNext’s growing profile outside India. The profitable Noida-headquartered company, which generated revenues of approximately $32 million in the last financial year, serves more than 70 banks across India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and the United States. Its clients include the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank, and State Bank of India and HDFC Bank, India’s largest public and private sector lenders respectively.
About half of BusinessNext’s revenue comes from outside India, and overseas markets are expected to drive much of its future growth, founder and CEO Nishant Singh said in an interview.
The company chose ServiceNow over potential financial investors to accelerate its US software group’s global reach. Singh told TechCrunch that the partnership will help BusinessNext “borrow machines,” a key indicator, referring to ServiceNow’s sales infrastructure in markets where it has limited presence.
“Think of it as a strategic partnership reinforced with finance,” he said.
BusinessNext’s software, Singh said, handles customer-facing banking workflows, while ServiceNow is stronger in workflow automation and back-office systems, a combination the two companies plan to jointly sell to financial institutions.
“India’s financial services sector is at an inflection point – institutions are moving from a digital experience to full-scale AI-driven operations,” said Kulmeet Bawa, group vice president and managing director, India and SAARC, ServiceNow. The partnership combines ServiceNow’s enterprise workflow platform with BusinessNext’s banking expertise, he added.
Founded in 2002, BusinessNext – known as CRMNext by 2022 – has spent several years building what Singh calls an “autonomous banking” platform, using artificial intelligence agents to automate banking workflows and storing sensitive customer data in its own AI infrastructure to meet regulatory and privacy requirements.
Singh told TechCrunch that artificial intelligence is built into the company’s platform from the start, rather than being added later. “We actually changed the name of our company and rewrote our stack to put that fundamentally at the core,” he said.
BusinessNext employs more than 1,300 people across its operations the latter was valued at $181 million 2021, according to Tracxn, a private market intelligence platform. It has raised more than $60 million in external funding and counts Avataar Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners and Ascent Capital among its existing investors.
The deal comes as established enterprise software providers face pressure from customers who question whether traditional SaaS tools are worth paying for as AI-powered alternatives emerge. The deal for ServiceNow strengthens its position in banking by partnering with a company focused on AI-driven banking software as it expands its enterprise software portfolio through acquisitions, investments and partnerships.
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