<div>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <p>
        Candis, an AP automation platform, has raised EUR 15.9 million (USD 16 million) in funding led by Viola FinTech with participation from Lightspeed and Viola Ventures. This round brings the company&rsquo;s total funding to around USD 30 million.&nbsp;
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <p>
        The funds will be invested in launching Candis&rsquo;s business expense cards, improving its invoice management solution, building more integrations for its platform, and expanding its workforce.&nbsp;
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <p>
        Candis noted that the processed invoice volumes have grown by around 9x in the past two years.
      </p>
    </li>
  </ul>
  <p>
  </p>
</div>


<div>
  <p>
    <a href="https://www.finsmes.com/2022/09/candis-raises-16m-in-funding.html">
      FinSMEs
    </a>
  </p>
  <p>
    <a href="https://ffnews.com/newsarticle/candis-raises-16m-to-provide-smes-easy-to-use-automated-invoice-management/">
      Fintech Finance News
    </a>
  </p>
  <p>
    <a href="https://siliconangle.com/2022/09/14/accounting-software-startup-candis-raises-16m-expand-product-offering/">
      SiliconAngle
    </a>
  </p>
  <p>
    <a href="https://www.eu-startups.com/2022/09/berlin-based-fintech-candis-banks-e15-9-million-to-empower-smes-with-automated-accounts-payable-processes/?utm_content=buffer003c1&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer">
      EU Startups
    </a>
  </p>
</div>


Business Expense Management

Candis raises EUR 15.9 million in funding

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

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 <p>Basware, a company based in Finland, offers automated accounts payable and invoice processing solutions. Their latest product is an AI solution called "AP Protect" that aims to protect businesses from financial setbacks caused by invoice errors or fraudulent actions.</p>
 <p>AP Protect is powered by over 800 algorithms and offers real-time monitoring. Its objective is to detect and prevent potential errors and fraud, thereby avoiding overpayments. The system uses confidence indicators in order to reduce the occurrence of false positives, that is, transactions that are wrongly labeled as fraudulent. Additionally, it assists businesses in determining and eliminating the fundamental causes of fraud or overpayment in their vendor master data.</p>
 <p>The company highlights three key benefits of the AP Protect solution. Firstly, it can proactively identify mistakes, preventing unnecessary fund disbursement. Secondly, it helps in identifying unauthentic vendors and suspicious transactions through invoice analysis. Lastly, it provides insights that can help eliminate the primary causes of overpayment and fraudulent activities in the vendor master data.</p>

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Basware launches AI solution AP Protect to combat invoice fraud and errors

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

<div>
 
 <p>Ramp, a business expense and payout management solutions provider, secured USD 150 million in an extension of its Series D round. The funding round saw participation from new investor Khosla Ventures and existing investor Founders Fund, with additional involvement from Sequoia Capital, Greylock, 8VC, among others.</p>
 <p>The capital raised is destined for technological innovation, primarily to augment the firm's use of artificial intelligence. It will also support potential future acquisitions.</p>
 <p>After the recent financiering round, the company's valuation reached USD 7.65 billion. This figure represents a significant increase from its USD 5.8 billion valuation in the previous round in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21235"> August 2023 </a>.</p>
 
</div> <p><b>Analyst QuickTake:<br>
 </b> The latest funding round brings Ramp’s valuation closer to the USD 8.1 billion valuation it had previously achieved during its series C funding round in March 2022. Similar to its <a href="https:<br>
//sp-edge.com/updates/26114"> acquistion of Venue </a> following its last funding round in August 2023, the firm may pursue inorganic growth to accelerate its expansion.&nbsp;</p>

Ramp raises USD 150 million to accelerate AI integration and expansion; valuation grows to USD 7.65 billion

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 <p>OpenEnvoy, a service provider specializing in finance and accounts payable automation, has introduced a new tool called "Generative Analytics". The tool aims to help finance and business professionals obtain important operational and expense reports in an interactive, conversational format.</p>
 <p>The main features of Generative Analytics include the incorporation of GenAI, a system that allows users to ask straightforward questions about expenses, vendor details, contracts, savings, project budgets, and cash flow. The answers are produced using machine learning and natural language processing technologies, making them easy to understand and visualized in forms such as graphs, charts, and tables. Moreover, it also provides options for users to delve into specific transactions for detailed insights.</p>
 <p>According to OpenEnvoy, the main advantages of using their new services are enhanced clarity into expenses and contracts, which contributes to the delegation of finance processes. They suggest that these functions empower CFOs to bring added value to their businesses without needing to increase the budget.</p>
 
</div>

OpenEnvoy launches Generative Analytics for enhanced finance and business visibility

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 <p>Spendesk, a spend management platform, has recently acquired Okko, a procurement company based in France.</p>
 <p>As a result of this acquisition, Spendesk plans to integrate Okko's technology into its existing platform. This will make Spendesk the first company in Europe to offer a fully integrated procurement and spend management solution for mid-sized businesses. By combining the expertise and capabilities of both companies, Spendesk aims to provide a comprehensive approach to managing operating expenses and enhancing procurement processes.</p>
 <p>Okko's core services include assisting businesses in their digital transformation processes by providing a comprehensive workflow to digitize procurement. This includes vendor management, collaborative purchase requests, and contract renewal management among others.</p>
 
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Spendesk acquires Okko to integrate spend management

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 <p>Ascend Software has launched Ascend Payments, an enhancement to their Accounts Payable Automation tool. This new feature aims to improve payment processes and operational efficiency, presenting a cost-saving opportunity for businesses and potentially transforming supplier payments into a source of revenue.</p>
 <p>The new payment feature seamlessly integrates with Ascend Software's existing accounts payable solution, fully automating the payment procedure. Along with seamless integration, Ascend Payments offers enhanced security features and supports a wide range of payment methods including ACH, checks, wire transfers, and virtual credit cards.</p>
 <p>According to the company, Ascend Payments boosts the security and efficiency of the payment process, providing tangible financial benefits. Suppliers also stand to gain from the new service as it enhances fraud prevention, improves remittance data quality, and reduces incidents of lost checks.&nbsp;</p>

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Ascend Software launches Ascend Payments to streamline payment processes

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 <p>Data management firm PRGX has announced the launch of Supplier Connect, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered platform for accounts payable (AP). The aim of this platform is to boost the efficiency of invoice inquiry and dispute resolution by fostering effective collaboration.</p>
 <p>Supplier Connect works by transforming traditional, manual processes into streamlined AI-based workflows. Such innovation brings the advantages of speed and precision, offering faster dispute resolution and stress-free accuracy.</p>
 <p>The company reports that Supplier Connect offers substantial benefits such as reducing the time taken to resolve disputes by up to 55%, and curbing unnecessary repayments by up to 40%. Further, PRGX reveals that this platform has the capability to discover and rectify embedded issues in payment inquiries and disputes. This function can enhance the relationship between businesses and suppliers, promoting better cooperation.</p>
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PRGX introduces AI-powered AP platform, Supplier Connect

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 <p>AP automation AI company, Ottimate, has formed a partnership with Agave, a specialist API provider for the construction industry. This collaboration is set to make it simpler for construction and real estate businesses to integrate Ottimate's accounts payable (AP) automation solution into their current operations.</p>
 <p>With the integration of Agave's APIs, Ottimate gives construction companies enhanced management capabilities over their Accounts Payable, Purchase Orders, Retainage, and Compliance workflows. The partnership benefits data transfer from <a href="https://sp-edge.com/companies/207917"> Procore </a> (a construction management software) and similar technologies to Ottimate's platform, enhancing accounts payable management across various contracts, jobs, and projects. The alliance is projected to boost productivity while delivering more customizable solutions for contractors of all types.</p>
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Ottimate partners with Agave for seamless AP management in construction industry

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 <p>Stampli, a company that offers AI-fueled solutions for accounts payable automation, has earned stellar ratings in reports from Gartner Digital Markets in 2024. These reviews were predicated on customer feedback, with Gartner's review sites including Capterra, Software Advice, and GetApp giving Stampli high scores.</p>
 <p>Factors which these reviews highlighted and that set Stampli apart in the market involve the efficiency of their invoice processing, the high quality of their customer support, and the impactful AI that they employ, designed with a focus on meeting each customer's individual business needs. These achievements have secured important positions for Stampli on Capterra's Shortlist, SoftwareAdvice's FrontRunners, and GetApp's Category Leaders.</p>
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Stampli recognized as a Top-Rated AP Platform by Gartner Digital Markets

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 <p> Australian spend management platform, Weel, has formed a partnership with global cross-border payments provider, Nium, and worldwide payment cards provider, Visa. This alliance aims to increase efficiency in financial teams in charge of corporate spending.</p>
 <p> As a result of this alliance, Nium will play a key role as Weel's primary financial services provider, enhancing its range of client offerings and supporting its expansion. In addition to this, the partnership with Visa will see the introduction of Visa Business Debit Cards into the Weel system. </p>
 <p> This collaboration is anticipated to bolster Weel's growth and payment services, by enabling global and real-time payments, simplifying currency conversion, and facilitating storage of balances in multi-currency wallets. </p>
 
</div>

Weel partners with Nium and Visa to enhance global corporate spend management

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 <p>Finnish company Basware, specializing in accounts payable (AP) automation and invoice processing solutions, has introduced the Touchless Invoice Processing (TIP) Discovery dashboard within its Basware Insights. The aim is to support customers in understanding and enhancing their manual invoice processing rates.</p>
 <p>The functionality of the TIP Discovery dashboard offers customers a transparent overview of their invoice process, assisting in monitoring touchless rates and identifying areas necessitating manual intervention. It also enables AP managers to track progress in various stages, including invoice receiving and matching.</p>
 <p>According to Basware, this tool is designed to enhance data precision, release working capital, and save client time through the automation of procedures. The company asserts that the tool facilitates identifying and addressing the root causes of inefficiencies, leading to possible advancements towards a fully automated, or "touchless," invoice processing system.</p>
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All Updates