Kintsugi, the Silicon Valley AI startup revolutionizing sales tax compliance, has more than doubled its valuation in just six months, securing $18 million in new funding led by global tax technology leader Vertex. The fresh round places Kintsugi at a post-money valuation of $150 million, up from $80 million in November.
Founded in 2023 by CEO Pujun Bhatnagar and based in San Francisco, Kintsugi offers an AI-powered platform designed to simplify and automate sales tax compliance for small and medium-sized businesses globally. As e-commerce and cross-border trade continue to grow, the demand for frictionless and accurate tax automation has skyrocketed, and Kintsugi is positioning itself as the go-to tool for startups and scale-ups looking to stay compliant in 171 countries.
“Our goal is to do for tax compliance what Uber did for taxi cabs and Stripe did for credit card payments”
Kintsugi’s solution integrates directly with major revenue-generating platforms like Shopify, Stripe, Chargebee, QuickBooks, and even custom APIs. This enables real-time data ingestion and instant tax liability calculations, which customers can then file with just a few clicks. While calculation is offered free, Kintsugi charges for tax filing and offers an auto-remit feature for full automation.
In a short span, the startup has acquired over 2,400 customers—from pre-revenue startups to companies making $500M in revenue—and boasts a 0.1% churn rate. It generated $3 million in revenue last year and is aiming for $10 million by the end of 2025. With 95 employees, it has already expanded to Canada and Europe and now has its sights set on South America, Africa, India, and China.
Vertex, which focuses on large multinational enterprises, sees Kintsugi as a perfect complement to its suite. The partnership includes a $15M minority stake for a 10% ownership interest, IP sharing, and a revenue-sharing commercial model. Vertex also plans to invest an additional $10–$12 million into AI development, leveraging Kintsugi’s cutting-edge tech to fast-track innovation.
With over 93% profit margins and a growing customer base—45% of which are SaaS companies handling $7.7 billion across 5.5 million transactions—Kintsugi is not just simplifying compliance, but shaping the future of tax tech.
