AI’s influence extends beyond flashy futuristic tech; it’s quietly transforming traditional industries, including accounting. Venture capitalists are particularly enthusiastic about automating labor-intensive tasks with AI, leading to investments in companies like Quanta, Numeric, and Kick.
Quanta, a startup offering an AI-powered accounting platform tailored for software companies, has just secured a $4.7 million seed round led by Accel, as exclusively reported to TechCrunch. Other investors include basecase, Comma Capital, and San Francisco angel investor Elad Gil. Founder Helen Hastings’ experience as a software engineer at Affirm, a ‘buy now, pay later’ company, inspired Quanta. She witnessed firsthand the inefficiencies of outdated accounting software, where financial data was gathered manually, resulting in monthly reports.
“I wanted to build something from the ground up that would help financial teams and business leaders become more efficient,” Hastings told TechCrunch. Quanta’s platform integrates with existing fintech tools, such as Brex, Mercury, and Stripe, automatically generating financial records and real-time reports. This approach differs from other ventures like Bench, which attempted to automate its human bookkeepers (peaking at 600) with AI, but ultimately struggled. Hastings explains that Quanta intends to circumvent that issue by developing an AI-first product and gradually integrating human oversight where necessary.
The funding round is also a significant personal achievement for Hastings, a female founder in a male-dominated industry. According to PitchBook data, only 2% of funding in 2024 went to companies founded exclusively by women, like Quanta. Hastings recalls an instructor who expressed doubt in her founding potential, an experience that further fueled her determination. With this new capital, Quanta plans to broaden its reach, expanding beyond early-stage software companies to include larger businesses, including those with multiple corporate entities. Hastings looks forward to these larger organizations expecting more from their accounting tools, “beyond what incumbents have been able to handle.”
