Kintsugi, the Silicon Valley-based startup specializing in AI-powered sales tax automation, has secured $18 million in funding led by global tax tech firm Vertex, doubling its valuation to $150 million in under six months.
Driven by e-commerce growth, cross-border trade, and complex global tax rules, the demand for tax automation tools is rising. Kintsugi empowers small and medium-sized businesses to streamline tax filing via its smart platform, integrating seamlessly with Shopify, Stripe, Chargebee, QuickBooks, and custom APIs to deliver real-time sales tax calculations and revenue insights.
“Our goal is like what Uber did for taxi cabs and Stripe did for credit card payments. We want to do it for the compliance piece in 171 countries,” said Pujun Bhatnagar (pictured above, left), co-founder and CEO of Kintsugi, in an exclusive interview.
Founded in 2023, the startup sees the 2018 Supreme Court ruling—mandating online sellers collect state tax—as a pivotal moment for the sector, encouraging SaaS-led compliance tools over traditional CPA methods.
Kintsugi undercuts Avalara by 50% and offers instant setup with just 7 clicks and 3 minutes, allowing businesses to calculate taxes for free and automate filings through optional auto remit features.
With $3 million in 2024 annual revenue, a goal to surpass $10 million in 2025, a 0.1% churn rate, and a 2,400-customer base ranging from early-stage startups to firms with $500M in revenue, Kintsugi is rapidly scaling.
Vertex has taken a 10% stake for $15 million and entered into a revenue-sharing commercial agreement with IP collaboration. The Pennsylvania-based firm also committed $10–12 million to enhance AI development leveraging Kintsugi’s technology.
Kintsugi boasts a profit margin exceeding 93% and currently employs 95 people. It plans further global expansion to South America, Africa, India, and China, after prior rollouts in Canada and Europe. Its SaaS customers contribute 45% of volume, handling 5.5 million transactions worth $7.7 billion.
