AI has venture investors excited about (yes) accounting firms
Live MintVenture capitalists are known for betting on risky, moonshot technology. Bessemer Venture Partners, General Catalyst, Thrive Capital are among the venture outfits taking stakes in accounting firms on the heels of a series of deals led by private equity. “We do think there’s a huge opportunity to roll up accounting firms and automate a lot of the workflow and let the same accounting firms take twice as many clients," said Marc Bhargava, a managing director at General Catalyst who leads the firm’s Creation strategy, which includes venture buyouts and incubations. As more private-equity investors make successful exits from accounting firms, venture investors will likely see them as attractive targets as well, said Kevin Georgerian, a partner at law firm Hunton Andrews Kurth who has advised accounting firms on taking outside investment. Last year, Bessemer made minority investments in accounting firms Carr, Riggs & Ingram and Crete Professionals Alliance, in what Bessemer Partner Brian Feinstein said is a new thesis driven by AI.
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