ServiceNow invests $40M in Indian banking-software firm BusinessNext

ServiceNow, the U.S. enterprise-software company known for automating IT service management and HR operations, has invested $40 million in BusinessNext, an Indian banking-software specialist, valuing the 24-year-old firm at $700 million and taking a roughly 5% stake. The deal gives BusinessNext access to ServiceNow’s global sales network as the two expand their partnership in AI for financial services.

BusinessNext, based in Noida, is profitable and generated about $32 million in revenue in its latest financial year. It serves more than 70 banks across India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and the U.S., including 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 already comes from outside India, and founder and CEO Nishant Singh said overseas markets are expected to drive much of its future growth. Singh said the company chose ServiceNow over financial investors specifically to tap its global sales machinery in markets where BusinessNext has limited presence. “Think of it as a strategic partnership, which is cemented with funding,” he said.

The two companies plan to sell their products jointly to financial institutions: BusinessNext’s software handles customer-facing banking workflows, while ServiceNow is stronger in back-office workflow automation. Kulmeet Bawa, ServiceNow’s group vice president and managing director for India and SAARC, said the partnership combines ServiceNow’s enterprise workflow platform with BusinessNext’s banking expertise as the sector shifts from early AI experimentation toward full-scale AI-led operations.

Founded in 2002 and known as CRMNext until 2022, BusinessNext has spent several years building an autonomous banking platform, using AI agents to automate workflows while keeping sensitive customer data on private AI infrastructure to meet regulatory and privacy requirements. Singh said AI was built into the platform from the outset rather than added later, prompting the company to rename itself and rewrite its stack. BusinessNext employs more than 1,300 people, was last valued at $181 million in 2021 according to Tracxn, and has raised more than $60 million in external funding from investors including Avataar Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, and Ascent Capital.

The deal comes as enterprise-software vendors face customers questioning whether traditional SaaS tools are worth paying for against AI-native alternatives — pressure ServiceNow is answering by expanding its financial-services footprint through acquisitions, investments, and partnerships.

Why it matters

The deal shows an established enterprise-software giant buying its way into an AI-native banking platform rather than building one from scratch, in a regulated industry where trust and existing bank relationships are hard to replicate quickly.