Upps! AI is watching your expenses – huge saving potential

Artificial intelligenceArtificial Intelligence knows many different definitions, but in general it can be defined as a machine completing complex tasks intelligently, meaning that it mirrors human intelligence and evolves with time. (AI) enterprise company AppZen closed a $2.9 million seed round today.

AppZen uses machine learning algorithmsAn algorithm is a fixed set of instructions for a computer. It can be very simple like "as long as the incoming number is smaller than 10, print "Hello World!". It can also be very complicated such as the algorithms behind self-driving cars. and natural language processingNatural Language Processing (NLP) is the part of the technology world concerned with language. Natural language means that the language is produced by or for humans. This website for example is all written in natural language. NLP ranges from speech recognition, to language synthesis, it also involves tasks such as machine translation or information retrieval. to automate and analyze expense reports for fraud. The company plans to extend into other back-office functions like accounting in the future, according to spokesperson Michelle O’Rourke.

An Association of Certified Fraud Examiners survey of 2,400 companies found that more than $6 billion is lost to expense fraud every year . AppZen claims it can reduce auditing costs 80 percent and greatly improve a business’s ability to catch fraud.

Other players in the enterprise and expense reporting software space include SAP, Unit4 , Sapho , and more than 50 applicants to the Botcamp accelerator.

AppZen, based in Sunnyvale, California, graduated from the 500 Startups accelerator in 2015. The round was led by Resolute Ventures and includes investment from Silicon Valley Bank, MasterCard, and Bloomberg Beta.

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