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ServiceNow, the US enterprise software company known for automating workflows such as 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 BusinessNextThe 24-year-old Indian company is valued at $700 million and holds a stake of about 5%. The deal gives BusinessNext access to ServiceNow’s global sales network as the companies expand their partnership in financial services AI.
ServiceNow’s investment reflects BusinessNext’s growing position outside India. The profitable Noida-based company, which had revenues of about $32 million in its last fiscal year, serves more than 70 banks across India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and the United States. Its clients include the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank, State Bank of India and HDFC Bank, India’s largest public and private sector lenders, respectively.
About half of BusinessNext’s revenue comes from outside India, and foreign markets are expected to drive much of its future growth, founder and CEO Nishant Singh said in an interview.
The company has chosen ServiceNow over potential financial investors to accelerate its expansion by leveraging the US software group’s global reach. Singh told TechCrunch that the partnership will help BusinessNext “borrow” its “machinery” — referring to ServiceNow’s sales infrastructure — in markets where it has a limited presence.
“Think of it as a strategic partnership strengthened by funding,” he said.
BusinessNext software manages customer-facing banking workflows, while ServiceNow is stronger at automating workflows and back-office systems, a combination the two companies plan to jointly sell to financial institutions, Singh said.
“India’s financial services sector is at an inflection point – as organizations move from digital experiences to large-scale, AI-led operations,” said Kulmit Bawa, Vice President, ServiceNow Group and Managing Director, India and SAARC. The partnership combines ServiceNow’s enterprise workflow platform with BusinessNext’s banking expertise, he added.
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 holding 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 beginning rather than added later. “We actually rebranded our company and rewrote our stack to basically put that at its core,” he said.
BusinessNext employs more than 1,300 people across its operations The latest value was $181 million In 2021, according to the proprietary 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 questioning whether traditional SaaS tools are worth paying for the advent of native AI alternatives. For ServiceNow, the deal strengthens 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.
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