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Introduction
A new chapter is unfolding in enterprise finance as Nominal, a startup founded by the creators of Cognigo, has secured \$20 million in Series A funding to accelerate AI-driven automation for CFOs. With a vision to eliminate the repetitive grind of accounting and financial operations, Nominal is reshaping how enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems operate. In a financial world thatâs still burdened by outdated tools and labor-intensive processes, this AI-first approach couldnât come at a more urgent timeâespecially as the U.S. faces a dramatic shortfall of over 300,000 CPAs.
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Nominal, a startup aiming to automate financial workflows for companies, has raised \$20 million in a Series A round. The round was led by Next47 and Workday Ventures, with participation from notable investors including Bling Capital, Hyperwise Ventures, Vela Partners, and others. The fresh capital brings Nominalâs total funding to approximately \$30 million.
Founded in April 2023 by Guy Leibovitz and Golan Kopichinsky, who previously sold Cognigo to NetApp for \$70 million, the company now employs about 40 people split between the U.S. and Israel, with plans to double its headcount in the next year.
Nominalâs core offering is an agentic AI platform designed to seamlessly integrate with existing ERP systems. These AI agents can autonomously handle tasks such as account reconciliations, financial analysis, and moreâwithout requiring extensive configuration or manual inputs.
The platform has reportedly saved over 50,000 hours of manual accounting labor so far. CEO Leibovitz positions Nominal as a “system of intelligence” as opposed to traditional âsystems of record,â emphasizing that the product doesnât just manage workflowsâit executes them autonomously.
Leibovitz further argues that as financial operations become central to business success, and with a vast talent gap in the accounting profession, solutions like Nominal are no longer optionalâthey’re mission-critical for mid-market and enterprise firms.
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The Financial Backdrop Is Ripe for Disruption
Nominalâs timing is impeccable. The global accounting labor crisis, particularly in the U.S., is worsening. With hundreds of thousands of CPAs missing, the manual-heavy burden on financial departments is unsustainable. Nominal steps in not as a replacement for accountants but as a force multiplier, enhancing productivity and reducing human error.
AI Agentic Platforms Are the Next SaaS Evolution
Traditional ERP systems are often clunky and require human effort to maintain workflows. Nominal’s pitch of an âagenticâ layer on top of existing ERP software is both clever and realistic. Instead of ripping and replacing legacy tools, it augments them intelligentlyâmaking it a faster and more scalable solution.
Execution Is KeyâNot Just Hype
While AI-powered platforms are sprouting everywhere, very few are execution-ready. Nominal claims 50,000+ hours saved, which is a tangible metric many startups fail to provide. This kind of validation could build trust in the highly conservative world of finance tech.
Workday
Workday Ventures backing Nominal
The Israeli Innovation Engine
With roots in Israel, Nominal benefits from one of the most vibrant ecosystems in AI and cybersecurity. The foundersâ prior experience in Cognigo adds further credibility, showing they can build, scale, and exit.
Risk Factors to Watch
The biggest challenge for Nominal will be compliance and regulatory adaptation. Finance is highly regulated, and any missteps in AI decision-making can lead to serious legal consequences. Transparency, explainability, and audit trails must be baked into the product.
CFOs Need More Than Speed
Nominalâs value proposition goes beyond time savings. Its potential lies in its decision-making augmentationâproviding CFOs with real-time insights, predictive modeling, and anomaly detection. If executed right, it could shift the CFOâs role from number-cruncher to strategic driver of business outcomes.
The Future Is Collaborative, Not Fully Autonomous (Yet)
Despite the hype, full AI autonomy in financial operations is still years away. Human-in-the-loop models will dominate in the short term. Nominal seems to understand this by working with ERP systems, not trying to replace them.
đ Fact Checker Results
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Funding Verified: Nominal has officially announced its \$20M Series A, with backing from Workday Ventures and Next47.
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Founder Background: Guy Leibovitz and Golan Kopichinsky are confirmed ex-Cognigo executives who sold to NetApp.
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Use-Case Credibility: Claims of 50,000 hours saved align with early enterprise use of agentic AI platforms.
đ Prediction
Nominal is likely to announce major enterprise partnerships within the next 12â18 months, possibly integrating directly with platforms like Workday or NetSuite. By 2026, it could become a leader in financial AI augmentation, pushing other ERP vendors to incorporate agentic layers into their own offerings or risk obsolescence.
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Reported By: calcalistechcom_9f098f862c56522881cb4cdb
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