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LayerX uses AI to cut enterprise back-office workload, scores $100M in Series B

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Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They’re here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise.

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LayerX uses AI to cut enterprise back-office workload, scores $100M in Series B Kate Park PM PDT · September 1, 2025 Aging demographics, labor shortages, the adoption of GenAI, and the 2023 implementation of e-invoicing are driving companies to automate finance, tax, procurement, and HR in Japan. Yet only 16% of digital transformations succeed, and that’s only 4–11% in traditional industries. The main barriers? Weak leadership commitment, a rigid culture, and a lack of digital talent. LayerX offers an AI SaaS platform to help enterprises scale back-office automation.

LayerX, a Japanese AI SaaS startup that enables businesses to cut back-office workload, has raised $100 million in a Series B round led

The company declined to disclose its valuation, but said both the valuation and the size of the round are among the largest ever raised

The startup’s key offerings include Bakuraku, a platform that automates corporate spending workflows, covering expense management, invoice processing, and corporate card operations — for more than 15,000 companies; Alterna, a retail digital securities investment platform developed in partnership with Mitsui & Co.; and Ai Workforce, a generative AI solution designed to streamline workflows and harness enterprise data.

Founded in 2018

The founder launched LayerX after identifying a significant bottleneck in Japan’s enterprise workflows: paper-based invoice processing. This insight prompted the team to pivot into SaaS with their AI-driven platform, Bakuraku, Fukushima told TechCrunch, adding that the platform’s AI-native user experience quickly gained traction, helping LayerX secure major strategic partnerships, including with MUFG, or Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, and paving the way for its latest funding round.

Despite a wave of digitalization, many Japanese companies still rely on paper and Excel for expense reimbursements and invoice processing, the CEO continued. Domestically, the startup competes with Money Forward Cloud Keihi, freee, and Rakuraku Seisan. Globally, its rivals include SAP Concur, Rippling, Brex, Ramp, Spendesk, and Airbase. In the AI Workforce space, it faces competition from Harvey, Fukushima noted.

Techcrunch event Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital, Elad Gil — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They’re here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $600+ before prices rise. Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They’re here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. San Francisco | October 27-29, 2025 REGISTER NOW Bakuraku differentiates itself with an AI-driven user experience. The company continuously upgrades automation features like “auto-entry and document splitting”, while also investing in AI agents and AI-enabled business processing outsourcing (BPO). Its team includes “more than 12 former CTOs and a Kaggle Grandmaster.” Bakuraku offers a comprehensive, integrated platform covering “expense management, invoice processing, corporate cards, workflows, e-ledger compliance, attendance, and receivables—all in one solution,” Fukushima added.

The startup has closed its Series B funding less than two years after securing its Series A in November 2023. Its signature platform, the Bakuraku Suite, has seen significant growth, the seven-year-old company said.

“We passed 10,000 customers in February 2024 and reached 15,000

LayerX is on track to reach $68 million, equivalent to ¥10 billion, faster than any SaaS company in Japan’s history, according to the company. “The growth benchmark known as T2D3 was achieved ahead of schedule, and we expect to surpass the previous domestic record, which took eight years from product launch, in under five years,” Fukushima said.

Ai Workforce counts Mitsui & Co. and MUFG Bank among its clients, while Bakuraku serves customers such as Ippudo, IRIS Ohyama, the Imperial Hotel, and Sekisui Chemical.

Looking forward, the company targets approximately $680 million (¥100 billion) in annual recurring revenue

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