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French and Swiss Business Software Firms Merge to Form $1.1 Billion Unicorn

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French business software provider LumApps and Swiss counterpart Beekeeper announced a merger on Wednesday that will create a new unicorn valued at approximately $1.1 billion. The deal, expected to close this month, is supported by British private equity firm Bridgepoint, which was a major shareholder in LumApps and will hold a majority stake in the combined company.

The new firm will be headquartered in Lyon, France — home to LumApps — and led by LumApps CEO Sebastien Ricard. Together, the company will employ around 600 people worldwide.

Beekeeper CEO Cristian Grossmann said that an IPO or trade sale could be considered midterm options, with the U.S. and Europe as potential venues given the company’s core markets.

LumApps develops software primarily used to manage corporate intranets and aims to enhance or replace products like Microsoft’s SharePoint. Their client base includes prominent companies such as Airbus and luxury goods giant LVMH.

Meanwhile, Beekeeper offers an app designed to connect frontline workers with the wider company, serving clients like Swiss retailer Coop and Heathrow Airport. Founded by ETH Zurich graduates, Beekeeper plans to break even this year.

Within six months, the merged company intends to launch a unified platform. Current annual revenue is around $150 million and is projected to double to $300 million by 2030. LumApps is already profitable, and the combined business is expected to be profitable from day one, according to LumApps CTO Elie Melois.

Oracle Integrates AI Pricing Features into Financial Software

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Oracle has introduced new artificial intelligence (AI) features to its NetSuite corporate finance software, aimed at simplifying common but time-consuming tasks. One of the highlights is a chatbot-driven feature designed to speed up the process of generating price quotes for complex purchases, such as custom bicycles, which require careful configuration.

In contrast to competitors like Microsoft, which focus on general-purpose virtual assistants, Oracle is emphasizing targeted AI tools designed to streamline specific business functions. These tools are meant to make repetitive tasks more efficient, such as entering sales meeting summaries into corporate systems or configuring products to provide accurate pricing to customers.

The new feature within NetSuite allows sales professionals or even consumers in e-commerce businesses to quickly generate quotes by conversing with a chatbot that gathers necessary information about the product, such as parts or configurations. This functionality is particularly useful in industries where customers need to customize products, like bicycles, and will help businesses close deals faster and more efficiently. “If you can configure products for customers more easily, you can do more deals in a day, or each deal costs less,” explained Evan Goldberg, Oracle NetSuite’s executive vice president.

Rather than competing in the race to build massive AI models, Oracle has partnered with Canadian AI startup Cohere to power its AI features. This approach allows the company to deliver functional AI tools without the high costs typically associated with developing large-scale models. Furthermore, Oracle has signaled potential future collaborations with OpenAI, having recently entered an agreement to build significant data centers with the ChatGPT creator. Though no formal announcements have been made, Goldberg confirmed that Oracle is eager to explore opportunities with OpenAI.

 

Oracle Launches AI Agents to Assist Sales Professionals

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Oracle has unveiled a new set of artificial intelligence (AI) agents designed to assist sales professionals in managing customer interactions more effectively. The new AI tools aim to automate and streamline several tasks that typically demand a significant amount of time and effort, such as data entry and customer reporting.

Key Points:

  • AI-Powered Sales Assistants: Oracle’s new AI agents are tailored to help sales teams by automating routine tasks. These agents can update company records, track deal progress, and generate reports, allowing sales professionals to focus more on customer relationships rather than administrative work.
  • Customer Intelligence: One notable feature of the new agents is their ability to compile and analyze customer data from various Oracle business software products. For instance, a “customer intelligence” agent can gather records from different departments, even in multiple languages, and create detailed reports to guide sales teams during customer meetings.
  • Real-World Use Cases: The AI agents can identify critical customer information, such as missed shipments in foreign markets, providing sales teams with insights that can inform decisions and negotiations. This global capability is particularly beneficial for companies working with international customers.
  • No Extra Charge: Oracle has made these features available to its customers starting Tuesday, without any additional fees.