Microsoft Co-Led $15M Investment in AI Software Evisort

Evisort was started in 2016 by researchers from MIT and Harvard.  The startup from San Mateo, California creates artificial intelligence software to help businesses  across the globe. The software is used to streamline corporate contracts through more efficient processing and tracking. Microsoft wants in on the booming platform and it’s easy to see why. M12 is the branch of Microsoft responsible for investments. They have locations throughout the world including Seattle, San Francisco, London and Israel. The Evisort deal was co-led by M12 and Vertex Ventures US, a venture capital firm from Palo Alto. It was a $15 million Series A round- not one to take lightly.

Why Did Microsoft Want In?

M12 invests in things that fall in line with Microsoft’s technological space. M12 is particularly fond of startups that make products that use Microsoft’s technologies like cloud and artificial intelligence. Evisort falls right into the Microsoft radar because of its ease of use and ability to create more efficient business technologies while utilizing AI to achieve those goals. Highlights of Evisort include:

• Review and analysis of documents
• Document tracking
• Ability to read 50 key data points

Invoices, contracts, purchase orders and legal agreements are just a few of the documents Evisort can manage. Of course, since many of these documents typically contain sensitive information. Evisort has ensured that their platform can be used behind a secure firewall.

“Our goal is to relieve legal and procurement teams from the labor-intensive process of managing contracts and empower them with the insights they need to truly do their jobs. We’re excited to deliver a solution that impacts their day to day and frees them up to do the core work they are experts at,” Evisort’s CEO, Jerry Ting, told businesswire.com.

Software like Evisort’s is so imperative to business. KPMG reports there is up to a 40% loss of value as a result of poor contract management. It’s easy then to see why Evisort’s platform would be so highly sought after. It’s been described as the “new command center for the operations team for mid-to-large enterprises.”

What’s Ahead For Evisort

The new influx of cash opens new doors for Evisort. The startup has just 35 employees currently. Naturally, they plan to add to their team in order to elevate the customer experience. They expect to offer new products that will continually enhance the software’s capability and reach. A research and development office is planned to open in Montreal which will employ an additional 10 employees.

Evisort has skyrocketed over the last year. They’ve acquired over 100 enterprise customers, some of which are Fortune 500 companies. Some of larger names include:

• Brooks Brothers
• Cox Automotive
• Fujitsu
• TravelZoo
• Sweetgreen

Evisort’s platform has proved to be so effective that more than half of their customers have added departments to it within the first month of use. Collectively, more than $40 billion in contracts is being managed with Evisort’s platform at this point in time. Since contracts are the lifeline of every business across the world, it’s no wonder that there is a market for making them more efficient.