ServiceNow invests $40 million in BusinessNext to accelerate autonomous banking with AI

ServiceNow bets $40 million on Indian banking software specialist to expand its financial services push

ServiceNow, the U.S. enterprise software company known for automating workflows like IT service management and HR operations, is betting on an Indian banking software specialist to deepen its push into global financial services. The company has invested $40 million in BusinessNext, valuing the 24-year-old Indian firm at $700 million and taking a roughly 5% stake. The deal gives BusinessNext access to ServiceNow's global sales network as the companies expand their partnership in AI for financial services. ServiceNow's investment reflects BusinessNext's growing profile beyond India. The profitable, Noida-based company, which generated about $32 million in revenue in its latest financial year, serves more than 70 banks across India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and the U.S. Its customers include the Reserve Bank of India, the country's central bank, and State Bank of India and HDFC Bank, which are India's largest public- and private-sector lenders, respectively. About half of BusinessNext's revenue comes from outside India, with overseas markets 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 expansion by tapping the U.S. software group's global reach. Singh told TechCrunch that the partnership would help BusinessNext "borrow" its go-to-marker "machinery" -- referring to ServiceNow's sales infrastructure -- in markets where it has a limited presence. "Think of it as a strategic partnership, which is cemented with funding," he said. BusinessNext's software, Singh said, manages customer-facing banking workflows, while ServiceNow is stronger in workflow automation and back-office systems, a combination the two companies plan to sell jointly to financial institutions. "India's financial services sector is at an inflection point -- institutions are moving from digital experimentation to full-scale AI-led operations," Kulmeet Bawa, ServiceNow's group vice president and managing director for India and SAARC, said. He added that the partnership combines ServiceNow's enterprise workflow platform with BusinessNext's banking expertise. Founded in 2002, BusinessNext -- known as CRMNext until 2022 -- has spent several years building what Singh calls an "autonomous banking" platform, using AI agents to automate banking workflows while keeping sensitive customer data on private AI infrastructure to meet regulatory and privacy requirements. Singh told TechCrunch that AI was built into the company's platform from the outset rather than added later. "We actually renamed our company and we kind of rewrote our stack to put that fundamentally at the core," he said. BusinessNext employs more than 1,300 people across its operations and was last valued at $181 million in 2021, per private market intelligence platform Tracxn. 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 vendors face pressure from customers who are questioning whether traditional SaaS tools are worth paying for when AI-native alternatives are emerging. For ServiceNow, the deal builds out 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.

ServiceNow invests $40 million in Businessnext at $700 million valuation

Global tech firm ServiceNow has invested $40 million in Businessnext. This funding round values Businessnext at seven hundred million dollars. The investment will drive autonomous operations and private AI solutions in finance. Businessnext's capabilities combined with ServiceNow's AI will boost regional banking growth. Indian financial services entities are now embracing AI-led operations. Global tech major ServiceNow on Thursday announced a USD 40 million investment in Businessnext, a homegrown platform focused on the banking and financial services industry. The Series C funding round values Businessnext at USD 700 million, and the funding will strengthen the company's efforts to drive autonomous operations and private AI solutions across banking and financial services, according to a statement. It will also help boost India's role in global AI technology for financial services, the statement added. Pointing to the strengths of working together, the statement said Businessnext's customer relationship management verticalised AI capabilities and digital lending platform for financial services, combined with ServiceNow's industry-specific AI solutions, portend growth potential to accelerate autonomous banking across the Asia Pacific region. "Today, as AI has matured, this investment will further accelerate our efforts to deliver private AI solutions, meeting the unique needs of banking and financial services, helping ensure the highest level of security while meeting all regulatory governance frameworks and sovereignty aspects," said Nishant Singh, the chief executive of Businessnext. ServiceNow's managing director for the country and SAARC region, Kulmeet Bawa, said financial services entities are moving from digital experimentation to full-scale AI-led operations, and his company's bet is primed on the same. "ServiceNow's investment in Businessnext is a direct bet on that transformation, bringing together deep banking intelligence and enterprise-grade AI orchestration to help Indian banks and insurers move faster, serve customers better, and operate with far greater efficiency," Bawa added. Offerings from Businessnext are being used by over 1 billion end customers globally today, the statement said.

BUSINESSNEXT, raises USD 40 mn in series C, to accelerate autonomous banking

BUSINESSNEXT today announced to have raised USD 40 mn in Series C, from ServiceNow Ventures, valuing the company at USD 700 million. The partnership with ServiceNow will help strengthen BUSINESSNEXT's autonomous banking capabilities and accelerate the adoption of Private AI across banking and financial services. "Autonomous banking is not a vision we are chasing -- it is a category we have been building for years. Today, as AI has matured, this investment will further accelerate our efforts to deliver Private AI solutions, meeting the unique needs of banking and financial services, ensuring the highest level of security while meeting all regulatory governance frameworks and sovereignty aspects" said, Nishant Singh, CEO, BUSINESSNEXT. BUSINESSNEXT and ServiceNow together will create a unified autonomous operating fabric for financial services enterprises, tapping into a market that is expected to grow to USD 3.59 Billion by 2035 with a CAGR of 20.28% according to the Market Research Future report. Kulmeet Bawa - GVP & Managing Director, India & SAARC, ServiceNow, said, India's financial services sector is at an inflection point -- institutions are moving from digital experimentation to full-scale AI-led operations. ServiceNow's investment in BUSINESSNEXT is a direct bet on that transformation, bringing together deep banking intelligence and enterprise-grade AI orchestration to help Indian banks and insurers move faster, serve customers better, and operate with far greater efficiency." For decades, banks have struggled with a fundamental problem: front-office systems understand customers but cannot act, while back-office systems execute tasks but lack context and speed. The result has been delays, fragmented operations, and lost business opportunities. Autonomous operations directly resolve that. To illustrate, the banks can onboard customers, provide loans or deliver financial advice autonomously with complete observability and AI control layer, while meeting all the regulatory compliances and governance structure. Commenting further on the partnership, Nishant added, "It marks a turning point for the global banking industry -- one that finally connects customer intelligence with enterprise execution in real time. Additionally, with deep banking intelligence and AI-led customer engagement capabilities, financial institutions can now operate with greater speed, intelligence, and coordination across all customer and operational touchpoints". The advanced autonomous operating system for banks will create one unbroken experience: from customer insight to enterprise action, across every customer touchpoint. Already powering 1 million+ users, 75,000+ branches, and over one billion end customers globally, BUSINESSNEXT brings over 15 years of deep banking intelligence -- combining AI-led decisioning, customer context, and agent-driven execution -- built specifically for financial institutions. BUSINESSNEXT has been built and proven in one of the world's most complex banking environments. Notably, it was positioned as a Leader in the Forrester Wave™: Customer Relationship Management Software for Financial Services, Q1 2025, achieving the top ranking globally for its platform offerings ahead of leading global vendors. Forrester highlighted BUSINESSNEXT's out-of-the-box BFSI workflows, ease of customization, and AI capabilities -- including predictive, generative, and agentic AI -- as standout differentiators.

ServiceNow buys 5% of BusinessNext, values Indian software firm at $700 million

July 22 (Reuters) - ServiceNow has acquired roughly 5% of BusinessNext in a deal that values the software provider at $700 million, as the Indian company looks to expand its autonomous banking tools through a partnership with the U.S.-based software giant. BusinessNext said on Wednesday it raised $40 million in a Series C round from ServiceNow Ventures, a venture capital arm of the company. Here are some details: o BusinessNext CEO Nishant Singh told Reuters that the funding will primarily be allocated to strengthening the company's sales efforts, initially focusing on expanding distribution in Southeast Asia and Australia. o "Every company has to go to an IPO. Right now, we're not looking at the IPO part," he said, adding that BusinessNext's ambition "right now is to run in every bank in the world." o The deal comes as banks are increasingly adopting AI tools offered by companies like BusinessNext to customize services, address customer queries and automate operations, helping them in saving time and attract more customers. o BusinessNext competes with companies like Freshworks and has more than 120 customers including India's largest lender State Bank of India and HDFC Bank. o The company said this partnership that will allow for enhanced monitoring of BusinessNext's AI agents through ServiceNow's AI control tower, a centralized platform for managing and governing AI models and agents across an enterprise. o Singh said BusinessNext has been "above $50 million for a couple of years now" in annual revenue, adding that the company has nearly 1,300 employees. o On Wednesday, ServiceNow raised its forecast for annual subscription revenue for the second time after beating second-quarter revenue and profit estimates, driven by growing demand for its AI-powered software. (Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)