ServiceNow buys 5% of BusinessNext, values Indian software firm at $700 million

July 22 (Reuters) - ServiceNow NOW.N has acquired roughly 5% of BusinessNext in a deal that values the software provider at $700 million, as the Indian company looks to expand its autonomous banking tools through a partnership with the U.S.-based software giant.

BusinessNext said on Wednesday it raised $40 million in a Series C round from ServiceNow Ventures, a venture capital arm of the company.

Here are some details:

• BusinessNext CEO Nishant Singh told Reuters that the funding will primarily be allocated to strengthening the company's sales efforts, initially focusing on expanding distribution in Southeast Asia and Australia.
• "Every company has to go to an IPO. Right now, we're not looking at the IPO part," he said, adding that BusinessNext's ambition "right now is to run in every bank in the world."
• The deal comes as banks are increasingly adopting AI tools offered by companies like BusinessNext to customize services, address customer queries and automate operations, helping them in saving time and attract more customers.
• BusinessNext competes with companies like Freshworks FRSH.O and has more than 120 customers including India's largest lender State Bank of India SBI.NS and HDFC Bank HDBK.NS.
• The company said this partnership will allow for enhanced monitoring of BusinessNext's AI agents through ServiceNow's AI control tower, a centralized platform for managing and governing AI models and agents across an enterprise.
• Singh said BusinessNext has been "above $50 million for a couple of years now" in annual revenue, adding that the company has nearly 1,300 employees.