Thomson Reuters Acquires Materia to Enhance AI Capabilities in Accounting and Legal Services

Thomson Reuters Acquires Materia to Enhance AI Capabilities in Accounting

The partnership aims to leverage Thomson Reuters' extensive content and expertise for innovative solutions. Thomson Reuters Corporation (Thomson Reuters), a global content and technology company, announced last week the acquisition of Materia, a US-based startup specialising in the development of an agentic AI assistant for the tax, audit, and accounting professions. This move is part of Thomson Reuters' strategy to accelerate the development of generative AI tools tailored for these sectors, according to the official release. Also Read: Accenture Study Reveals AI-Driven Companies Outpace Competitors Founded in 2022, Materia is purpose-built for tax, audit, and accounting use cases. Its agentic AI assistant automates and augments research and workflows, helping accountants improve efficiency and effectiveness while delivering greater value to clients, the official release said. "Our vision is to provide each professional we serve with a Gen AI assistant. Materia will further accelerate this vision for our tax, audit and accounting customers," said David Wong, Chief Product Officer, Thomson Reuters. "Once fully integrated, Materia will transform work and unify the entire customer experience with applications across our tax, audit, and accounting portfolio. We are excited by the potential of combining Materia with Thomson Reuters content, know-how, and solutions." "Materia is defining the future for how agentic AI can enhance the accounting profession. Our vision is to eliminate low-value, tedious tasks, and in doing so, both increase quality, and free up accounting teams to focus on higher value advisory work for their clients, said Kevin Merlini, CEO of Materia. "By combining, we will be able to move more quickly toward this objective and will unlock new opportunities to deliver highly-requested solutions for our customers." Also Read: 68 Percent of Companies to Utilise AI for Hiring by 2025: Report Thomson Reuters Ventures, an early investor in Materia, previously launched a proof-of-concept initiative that allowed select Checkpoint Edge users to engage with specific Checkpoint content through Materia's AI assistant. "The promising initial results from this work provides confidence that Thomson Reuters and Materia together can best leverage generative AI to deliver value for Thomson Reuters tax, audit and accounting customers," the companies said in a joint statement. According to the official release, Materia is the first comprehensive generative AI platform built specifically for public accounting firms. It is built on a proprietary library of authoritative accounting content, integrated with firm knowledge and key industry software.

Thomson Reuters acquires agentic AI accounting assistant firm Materia - SiliconANGLE

Founded in 2022, Materia provides AI assistants that help accountants automate knowledge work for tax, auditing and research to improve their effectiveness when working with clients. The company does so by using a new AI methodology called "agentic workflows," where AI does more than provide summaries and answers, but can also perform actions without human intervention for generating reports, emails, analysis and more. "Materia is defining the future for how agentic AI can enhance the accounting profession," said Materia Chief Executive Kevin Merlini. "Our vision is to eliminate low-value, tedious tasks, and in doing so, both increase quality and free up accounting teams to focus on higher-value advisory work for their clients." Thomson Reuters Ventures, an early investor in Materia, assisted in building proof-of-concepts for Materia's AI assistant. The investor participated in Materia's $6.3 million funding round in June this year, which was led by Spark Capital. The two companies did not reveal the details of the acquisition. Acquiring Materia follows a larger bet on generative AI for Thomson Reuters as the company continues to follow a trend of building up its background in the technology. Thomson Reuters announced last November that it plans to invest more than $100 million in AI and build it into its information services. Following up on this plan, Thomson Reuters has used its vast data trove to build AI products, train its workforce and bolster its use of AI in the industry. Thomson Reuters has launched multiple AI products to assist lawyers including an AI-powered chatbot on practical law, an in-document law finder and a legal AI assistant called CoCouncil Core capable of document review, drafting and analysis. "Our vision is to provide each professional we serve with a gen AI assistant," said David Wong, chief product officer at Thomson Reuters. "Materia will further accelerate this vision for our tax, audit and accounting customers. Once fully integrated, Materia will transform work and unify the entire customer experience with applications across our tax, audit and accounting portfolio."

Thompson Reuters acquires agentic AI accounting assistant firm Materia - SiliconANGLE

Founded in 2022, Materia provides AI assistants that help accountants automate knowledge work for tax, auditing and research to improve their effectiveness when working with clients. The company does so by using a new AI methodology called "agentic workflows," where AI does more than provide summaries and answers, but can also perform actions without human intervention for generating reports, emails, analysis and more. "Materia is defining the future for how agentic AI can enhance the accounting profession," said Kevin Merlini, chief executive of Materia. "Our vision is to eliminate low-value, tedious tasks, and in doing so, both increase quality, and free up accounting teams to focus on higher value advisory work for their clients." Thomson Reuters Ventures, an early investor in Materia, assisted in building proof-of-concepts for Materia's AI assistant. The investor participated in Materia's $6.3 million funding round in June this year, which was led by Spark Capital. The two companies did not reveal the details of the acquisition. Acquiring Materia follows a larger bet on generative AI for Reuters as the company continues to follow a trend of building up its background in the technology. Reuters announced last November that it plans to invest more than $100 million in AI and build it into its information services. Following up on this plan, Reuters has used its vast data trove to build AI products, train its workforce and bolster its use of AI in the industry. Reuters has launched multiple AI products to assist lawyers including an AI-powered chatbot on practical law, an in-document law finder and a legal AI assistant called CoCouncil Core capable of document review, drafting and analysis. "Our vision is to provide each professional we serve with a Gen AI assistant. Materia will further accelerate this vision for our tax, audit and accounting customers," said David Wong, chief product officer at Thomson Reuters. "Once fully integrated, Materia will transform work and unify the entire customer experience with applications across our tax, audit, and accounting portfolio."

Thomson Reuters Acquires AI Startup Materia

Thomson Reuters is expanding its AI footprint with the acquisition of U.S.-based accounting AI startup company, Materia. The content and technology company said Tuesday that Materia specializes in the development of an agentic AI assistant used by tax, audit and accounting professionals. Agentic artificial intelligence is a class of AI designed to act autonomously to perform tasks, analyze data and make decisions, and interact with their environments. In particular, Materia's agentic AI aims to automate and improve research and workflows for its end-users. While no financial details were disclosed, Thomson Reuters said the transaction is complementary to its AI roadmap, and accelerates its plan to offer more generative AI tools to its clients. Write to Adriano Marchese at [email protected]

Thomson Reuters Acquires Materia - a specialist in agentic AI for the tax, audit and accounting profession - Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI)

TORONTO, Oct. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Thomson Reuters Corporation ("Thomson Reuters") TRI, a global content and technology company, today announced it has acquired Materia, a US-based startup that specializes in the development of an agentic AI assistant for the tax, audit and accounting profession. This transaction, which is complementary to Thomson Reuters AI roadmap, accelerates Thomson Reuters vision for the provision of generative AI tools to the professions it serves. Founded in 2022, Materia is purpose built for tax, audit and accounting use cases. Its agentic AI assistant automates and augments research and workflows helping accountants to improve efficiency, effectiveness and the value they add to their clients. "Our vision is to provide each professional we serve with a Gen AI assistant. Materia will further accelerate this vision for our tax, audit and accounting customers," said David Wong, Chief Product Officer, Thomson Reuters. "Once fully integrated, Materia will transform work and unify the entire customer experience with applications across our tax, audit, and accounting portfolio. We are excited by the potential of combining Materia with Thomson Reuters content, know-how, and solutions." "Materia is defining the future for how agentic AI can enhance the accounting profession. Our vision is to eliminate low-value, tedious tasks, and in doing so, both increase quality, and free up accounting teams to focus on higher value advisory work for their clients, said Kevin Merlini, CEO of Materia. "We are excited to join Thomson Reuters on this exciting journey toward our shared vision. By combining, we will be able to move more quickly toward this objective and will unlock new opportunities to deliver highly-requested solutions for our customers." Thomson Reuters Ventures, an early investor in Materia, led the effort to launch a proof-of-concept initiative that allowed select Checkpoint Edge users to engage with certain Checkpoint content through Materia's AI assistant. The promising initial results from this work provides confidence that Thomson Reuters and Materia together can best leverage generative AI to deliver value for Thomson Reuters tax, audit and accounting customers. Thomson Reuters Thomson Reuters TRI informs the way forward by bringing together the trusted content and technology that people and organizations need to make the right decisions. The company serves professionals across tax, accounting, compliance, government, and media. Thomson Reuters' products combine highly specialized software and insights to empower professionals with the data, intelligence, and solutions needed to make informed decisions, and to help institutions in their pursuit of justice, truth, and transparency. Reuters, part of Thomson Reuters, is the world's leading provider of trusted journalism and news. For more information, visit tr.com. About Materia Materia is the first comprehensive generative AI platform built specifically for public accounting firms. Materia is built on a proprietary library of authoritative accounting content, integrated with firm knowledge, and key industry software. The platform offers a suite of pre-built capabilities to improve efficiency and quality for all levels of accounting staff across a variety of workflows while keeping security and accuracy central to its platform. SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS, MATERIAL RISKS AND MATERIAL ASSUMPTIONS Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking, including but not limited to the expected strategic benefits of the proposed transaction. The words "expect", "believe" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. While the company believes that it has a reasonable basis for making forward-looking statements in this news release, they are not a guarantee of future performance or outcomes and there is no assurance that any of the other events described in any forward-looking statement will materialize. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations. Many of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions are beyond our company's control and the effects of them can be difficult to predict. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements which reflect expectations only as of the date of this news release. Except as may be required by applicable law, Thomson Reuters disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. CONTACTS MEDIA Dave Moran Corporate Communications 1 647 2853815 [email protected] INVESTORS Gary E. Bisbee, CFA Head of Investor Relations +1 646 540 3249 [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/thomson-reuters-acquires-materia--a-specialist-in-agentic-ai-for-the-tax-audit-and-accounting-profession-302282041.html SOURCE Thomson Reuters Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Thomson Reuters expands AI capabilities with Materia acquisition By Investing.com

TORONTO - Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) Corporation (TSX/NYSE: TRI), a leading provider of business information services, announced today the acquisition of Materia, a U.S. startup specializing in agentic AI for tax, audit, and accounting professionals. This move is set to enhance Thomson Reuters' portfolio of generative AI tools and streamline customer experience across its services. Materia, founded in 2022, has developed an AI assistant that automates research and workflows, aiming to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of accounting teams. The integration of Materia's technologies will allow Thomson Reuters to offer a Gen AI assistant to professionals, furthering its commitment to innovation in the sector. David Wong, Chief Product Officer at Thomson Reuters, expressed enthusiasm for the acquisition, stating that the combined capabilities of both companies will transform work and unify customer experience. Kevin Merlini, CEO of Materia, echoed this sentiment, highlighting the potential for their AI to eliminate tedious tasks and elevate the quality of work by enabling accountants to focus on higher-value advisory services. The acquisition follows a successful proof-of-concept initiative where Thomson Reuters Ventures, an early investor in Materia, allowed users of Checkpoint Edge to interact with Checkpoint content via Materia's AI assistant. The promising results from this collaboration underpin confidence in the strategic benefits of the acquisition. Thomson Reuters serves professionals across various sectors, including tax, accounting, compliance, government, and media, with specialized software and insights. Materia's platform, designed for public accounting firms, combines authoritative accounting content with firm knowledge and industry software to improve workflow efficiency and quality while maintaining security and accuracy. The press release includes forward-looking statements regarding the expected strategic benefits of the transaction. However, it caresses that such statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. This acquisition aligns with Thomson Reuters' vision to empower professionals with advanced tools and solutions, signaling a significant step in the evolution of generative AI applications within the tax, audit, and accounting industry. The information for this article is based on a press release statement from Thomson Reuters. In other recent news, Thomson Reuters has entered a definitive agreement to sell its legal assistance platform FindLaw to Internet Brands. The transaction is expected to be finalized in the fourth quarter of 2024, subject to regulatory approvals. In other developments, Thomson Reuters is set to introduce a digital subscription service for a fee of $1 per week. The company's stock rating was also upgraded by Scotiabank from Sector Perform to Sector Outperform, indicating potential revenue growth from the company's investments in GenAI capabilities. Additionally, Thomson Reuters introduced CoCounsel 2.0, a next-generation artificial intelligence assistant designed to enhance productivity across various industries. This tool is expected to deliver answers three times faster than its predecessor. On the financial front, Thomson Reuters reported strong second-quarter results, leading to an increase in its full-year 2024 revenue outlook. The company's organic revenues grew by 6%, with products such as Practical Law and Confirmation showing double-digit growth. These are the recent developments in Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters' acquisition of Materia aligns with its strong market position and financial performance. According to InvestingPro data, the company boasts a substantial market capitalization of $75.51 billion, reflecting investor confidence in its growth strategy and market leadership. The company's focus on innovation and AI integration is supported by its solid financial metrics. Thomson Reuters has demonstrated consistent revenue growth, with a 4.61% increase over the last twelve months and a 5.65% growth in the most recent quarter. This growth trajectory suggests that strategic acquisitions like Materia could further enhance the company's market position and financial performance. InvestingPro Tips highlight Thomson Reuters' commitment to shareholder value. The company has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years and has maintained dividend payments for an impressive 36 consecutive years. This track record of consistent dividend growth, coupled with a current dividend yield of 1.29%, makes Thomson Reuters an attractive option for income-focused investors. The company's strong financial health is further evidenced by its profitability. Thomson Reuters has been profitable over the last twelve months, with analysts predicting continued profitability this year. The company's operating income margin stands at a robust 27.47%, indicating efficient management and strong pricing power in its markets. While Thomson Reuters trades at a high P/E ratio of 32.12, which might seem expensive at first glance, it's important to consider the company's long-term performance and growth prospects. InvestingPro Tips reveal that Thomson Reuters has delivered high returns over the last decade and strong returns over the past five years, suggesting that the premium valuation may be justified by the company's consistent performance and market leadership. For investors seeking more comprehensive analysis, InvestingPro offers 15 additional tips for Thomson Reuters, providing a deeper understanding of the company's financial health and market position.