Yazılar

AI Startup DualEntry Raises $90 Million to Challenge ERP Giants

/in /tarafından

New York-based AI startup DualEntry has raised $90 million in a Series A funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Khosla Ventures, aiming to shake up the entrenched enterprise resource planning (ERP) software market long ruled by heavyweights such as Oracle NetSuite, Sage, and Acumatica.

GV (Google Ventures) also joined the round, valuing the year-old company at $415 million — a sign of investors’ growing appetite for AI-driven enterprise tools that streamline operations and eliminate long-standing inefficiencies in business management systems.

REVOLUTIONIZING ERP MIGRATIONS

DualEntry’s main product is an AI-native ERP platform designed to automate financial workflows and drastically reduce the time and cost of system migrations. Its flagship capability, called “NextDay Migration,” can reportedly transfer a company’s historical financial data from legacy systems to DualEntry’s platform within 24 hours, compared to the months-long implementations typical in traditional ERP setups.

The company’s strategy targets mid-sized businesses — firms that have outgrown entry-level tools like QuickBooks but lack the resources or appetite for expensive, complex ERP overhauls.

“The process of moving to a traditional ERP can be clunky, expensive, and painful,” said CEO Santiago Nestares, who founded DualEntry after struggling with ERP migration in his previous company. “We built a platform that gets businesses live in 24 hours.”

RAPID GROWTH AND INVESTOR CONFIDENCE

Since its launch, DualEntry has attracted a diverse customer base — from startups to publicly listed companies — and plans to use the new funding to expand its 40-person team, accelerate product development, and scale internationally.

Lightspeed partner Ravi Mhatre said DualEntry’s approach replaces armies of consultants with automation:

“It takes an understanding of how complex ERP migration really is, and training AI to act as the data consultants that would normally handle the process. That drastically accelerates everything.”

A $500 BILLION MARKET RIPE FOR CHANGE

Analysts estimate the global ERP market is worth $500 billion, yet innovation has stagnated since the industry’s transition from on-premise to cloud systems. Many legacy providers still depend on third-party consultants charging by the hour, creating a slow and costly adoption cycle.

DualEntry’s model aims to disrupt that structure — not only by cutting costs but by enabling companies to deploy systems in days rather than quarters. With automation and AI at its core, investors say the startup is tapping into both the digital transformation wave and a looming talent shortage in accounting and financial operations.

If successful, DualEntry could redefine how businesses approach ERP — turning a process notorious for frustration and downtime into one measured in hours instead of months.

EU Probes SAP Over Software Practices That May Hinder Competition

/in /tarafından

The European Commission has launched an antitrust investigation into SAP, saying the German software giant’s business practices may have unfairly restricted rivals in the enterprise resource planning (ERP) market.

SAP is the global leader in ERP software, which companies use to manage finance, HR, supply chains, sales, and procurement. The probe focuses on SAP’s aftermarket practices, raising concerns that customers may be locked into its services and face higher costs.

“We are concerned that SAP may have restricted competition in this crucial aftermarket, by making it harder for rivals to compete, leaving European customers with fewer choices and higher costs,” said EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera.

The investigation leaves SAP exposed to potential fines of up to 10% of its annual global sales.

Reuters previously reported that SAP had offered concessions to ease regulators’ concerns after complaints from European businesses about its ERP policies.

The Commission highlighted several practices under scrutiny:

  • preventing customers from switching to rival support and maintenance providers,

  • blocking customers from ending support for unused licenses,

  • extending initial on-premises ERP license terms to prevent early termination,

  • charging reinstatement and back-maintenance fees when customers return after leaving.

SAP said it does not expect any financial hit from the probe. “We do not anticipate the engagement with the European Commission to result in material impacts on our financial performance,” the company said, while adding that it was working closely with regulators.

SAP defended its policies as being based on long-standing global software standards and compliant with competition rules.

SAP offers concessions to EU in effort to ease antitrust concerns

/in /tarafından

SAP, Europe’s largest software maker, has proposed concessions to the European Commission in an attempt to head off a potential antitrust investigation and fines, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The German company dominates the enterprise resource planning (ERP) market, providing software that helps firms manage finances, supply chains, HR, and procurement. SAP has long been under scrutiny from EU regulators following complaints about complex licensing terms, the bundling of applications, and difficulties faced by companies trying to switch to rival suppliers.

According to sources, SAP has submitted a proposal aimed at addressing regulators’ concerns, though details of the remedies were not disclosed. If accepted, SAP could avoid a formal investigation and a penalty that could reach up to 10% of its annual global revenue. Both SAP and the European Commission declined to comment.

The Commission previously circulated a 2022 questionnaire to SAP customers asking about their ability to switch to rival vendors, purchase only specific support services, or migrate from on-premise ERP systems to the cloud. The inquiry also raised questions about whether SAP or Oracle had disparaged competitors.

Potential remedies could include giving customers greater flexibility to purchase individual support contracts and lowering barriers to migration between vendors.

SAP also faces antitrust pressure in the United States: in June it asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a ruling requiring it to face a lawsuit from Teradata, which accused the company of anti-competitive practices.

The EU’s decision on SAP’s concessions will determine whether the company averts another high-profile investigation as regulators increase scrutiny of dominant software vendors.