ServiceNow bets $40 million on Indian banking software specialist to expand its financial services push

ServiceNow, the US 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 business in the global financial services space.

The company has invested $40 million in it BusinessNextvaluing the 24-year-old Indian company at $700 million and taking a stake of around 5%. The deal gives BusinessNext access to ServiceNow’s global sales network as the companies expand their partnership in AI for financial services.

ServiceNow’s investment reflects BusinessNext’s growing profile outside India. The profitable Noida-based company, which generated approximately $32 million in revenue in its last fiscal, serves more than 70 banks across India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and the US. Its clients include the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank, and 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, with overseas markets expected to drive much of its future growth, founder and CEO Nishant Singh said in an interview.

The company chose ServiceNow over potential financial investors to accelerate its expansion by leveraging the US software group’s global reach. Singh told TechCrunch that the partnership would help BusinessNext “borrow” its go-to marker “machines” – referring to ServiceNow’s sales infrastructure – in markets where it has a limited presence.

“Think of it as a strategic partnership, strengthened by financing,” he said.

BusinessNext’s software, Singh says, manages customer-facing banking workflows, while ServiceNow is stronger in workflow automation and back-office systems, a combination the two companies plan to jointly sell to financial institutions.

“India’s financial services industry is at an inflection point as institutions transition from digital experimentation to large-scale AI-led operations,” said Kulmeet Bawa, ServiceNow group vice president and managing director for India and SAARC. He added that the partnership combines ServiceNow’s business workflow platform with BusinessNext’s banking expertise.

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 keeping sensitive customer data on private AI infrastructure to meet regulatory and privacy requirements.

Singh told TechCrunch that AI was built into the business platform from the start rather than being added later. “We’ve rebranded our company and we’ve rewritten our stack a little bit to fundamentally center that,” he said.

BusinessNext employs more than 1,300 people across all its activities and services last valued at $181 million in 2021, per private market information 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 providers face pressure from customers questioning whether traditional SaaS tools are worth paying for as AI-native alternatives emerge. For ServiceNow, the deal builds its position in banking by partnering with a company focused on AI-driven banking software, while expanding its enterprise software portfolio through acquisitions, investments and partnerships.