Sterling, a New Zealand artificial intelligence company focused on automating routine accounting and finance operations, has closed a NZ$3.8 million seed funding round.
The capital injection, led by trans-Tasman venture firm Blackbird Ventures, will support team expansion and efforts to reach larger enterprise clients in New Zealand, Australia and the United States.
Sterling develops software that functions as an autonomous system for finance departments.
Rather than requiring constant human prompts like many AI assistants, the platform operates in the background.
It integrates with existing enterprise resource planning systems, email inboxes and other tools already used by accounting teams.
The technology handles incoming invoices, matches bank transactions, manages recurring month-end processes and performs related tasks.
Every step is recorded for transparency and auditability, with unclear or complex items automatically flagged for human review.
The company was established in 2025 by co-founders Nik Wakelin and Ludwig Wendzich, who maintain teams in Wellington and Auckland.
Wakelin brings experience from roles at Deliveroo and earlier ventures including MinuteDock and Gelato.io. Wendzich previously contributed to product and design work at Vend (later acquired by Lightspeed) and spent time as a senior front-end engineer at Apple.
The concept emerged from everyday observations at home, where both founders’ partners work in accounting and finance and regularly faced time-consuming operational demands such as accruals, approvals and cleanup of accounts payable.
Additional participants in the oversubscribed round include investors Rowan Simpson and Eliot Crowther, along with other individuals connected to earlier New Zealand technology successes such as Trade Me, Pushpay, Xero and Vend.
Company representatives have noted that many team members and backers share roots in building software from New Zealand, and they aim to apply those lessons to tools that support core business functions.Sterling has already begun serving customers.
Early adopters include the internal finance groups at honey exporter Manukora, early childhood software provider Storypark and insurance broker Echelon.
Development received support through a government research and development grant. Since launching with users in March, the platform has reportedly completed a substantial volume of finance-related work on behalf of clients.Founders emphasize a distinction between their approach and typical AI copilots.
Wakelin has described the system as continuing to operate even when users are offline, preparing materials so that finance staff can review completed work upon starting their day.
Wendzich has highlighted the expected broader shift in accounting roles, with professionals moving away from repetitive operational duties toward more strategic contributions.
Blackbird Principal James Palmer pointed to the founders’ detailed understanding of customer challenges and the platform’s ability to clear full month-end workloads as factors supporting the investment.Industry forecasts suggest widespread adoption of AI-enabled tools within finance functions in the near term.
Sterling positions its offering as one that prioritizes reliability, full logging of actions and seamless fit with existing processes, aiming to move beyond limited point solutions.
The funding is intended to strengthen hiring, particularly in engineering, and to build further credibility with decision-makers at larger organizations so that the technology can demonstrate consistent performance on real financial workloads.
In a relatively short period since incorporation, the startup has progressed from concept to live deployments and a notable seed raise, reflecting continued activity within New Zealand’s technology investment landscape.