Why We Invested in Anchorbase
For many years now, software and technology companies have been layering fintech capabilities into their core product offerings. Payments, for example, drive additional revenue and profitability from customers who already rely on their software applications for mission-critical workflows.
Fast forward to 2026. Software companies saw their stock meaningfully devalued around the SaaSpocalypse narrative. Subscription revenue models are losing their luster in favor of consumption-based or ROI-driven pricing, and advancements in AI mean the software itself no longer has a unique competitive advantage with natural defensibility, since large language models can now build applications just as well as (and faster than) most developers.
As technology continues to evolve, we believe financial services will be a key differentiator in the AI era.
We’re witnessing the “refresh” of embedded fintech as AI-native platforms incorporate payments, banking, lending, payroll, or insurance into their products. Money movement adds value – payments can’t be vibe-coded – so fintech capabilities will contribute to and reinforce a defensive moat.
One of our latest AI-native investments is Anchorbase, a company that helps mid-market businesses automate their back-office workflows. Anchorbase uses agentic AI to automate payment collection, reconciliation, and reporting within the core system of records that companies already use. The platform functions as a secure desktop environment that interacts with systems the way an employee does: by understanding what is on the screen, knowing what action needs to happen next, and helping complete that action accurately and repeatably. With Anchorbase, businesses can initiate payments inside their existing ERP, CRM, accounting system, or operational software, collect funds through a terminal or payment link, automatically reconcile payments to the correct invoice, and trigger the next workflow – all without switching between disconnected tools.
Most mid-market companies run on outdated software that is owned by incumbents and difficult to replace. While essential to business operations, these legacy systems often do not connect cleanly to modern payment tools, reconciliation workflows, or AI automation. In many cases, they also lack modern APIs, making traditional integrations difficult or impractical. Anchorbase solves this challenge by layering agentic payments and automation onto existing systems of record, bringing back-office workflows into the modern era.
When we met Doug van Spronsen, Oren Wigoda, Michael Men, Craig Speers, and Alex Baretta, we were impressed by their clear vision for the product and the company’s already strong product-market fit. Anchorbase’s founding team comprises proven operators with decades of payments expertise who know how to scale and exit a business. That experience, combined with the company’s initial traction and market adoption, gave us the conviction to invest.
We believe financial services and fintech are unique enough categories where de novo startups and standalone businesses will beat platforms building experimental applications. We’ve seen similar patterns with enabling technologies in their early days – from the Internet and Cloud to SaaS and mobile – and we expect history to rhyme with AI. Anchorbase has built an agentic AI platform for an underserved segment at exactly the right time, and we believe they will continue to scale payments and back-office automation for the mid-market.
