Vertex and Kintsugi Empower Businesses with Tax Automation

Tax compliance has long been the quiet corner of finance, repetitive, rigid, and rarely innovative. But that’s starting to change. Across the industry, automation is no longer about saving time; From predictive engines that flag rule changes before regulators announce them to AI workflows that make 1099 seasons feel like a breeze. Enter Vertex and Kintsugi. Their new collaboration, Kintsugi powered by Vertex, is more than another software release. It’s a signal that AI-native design is finally coming for the toughest part of accounting: compliance. It’s built to lighten the load on tax, audit, and finance teams, especially those in small and midsize firms that have long been left juggling outdated systems. This launch doesn’t just mark a product’s milestone; it connects to a much bigger story, how AI is transforming the very backbone of tax operations, from Qount’s 1099 automation to Sovos’s predictive compliance tools. And Vertex, with its deep tax DNA, seems intent on leading the charge.

The Big Picture Behind the Launch

On October 8, 2025, Vertex Inc. (VERX) launched Kintsugi powered by Vertex, an AI-native tax automation solution built in collaboration with Kintsugi, a rising star in tax-tech circles. It’s more than a software drop; it’s a statement about where compliance is headed: always-on, AI-driven, transparent, and adaptive. This partnership gives Vertex something it’s been missing, a direct line to small and mid-market businesses (SMBs). Kintsugi, on the flip side, gains access to Vertex’s credibility, infrastructure, and 40+ years of tax expertise. As Chirag Patel, Chief Strategy Officer at Vertex, put it, “Together, we’re bringing ease of use, quick time to value, and precision to tax workflows, laying the foundation for future innovations that make seamless continuous compliance achievable for companies of all sizes.”

That synergy is more than talk. Vertex is leveraging its tax engine, trusted by enterprise giants, and wrapping it in an agile AI-native shell designed for smaller teams. Think of it as taking a Formula 1 engine and dropping it into an electric hybrid that anyone can drive.

Growth, Revenue & Market Mojo

Let’s break down the financials, because the money story here is key.

• Vertex: In Q1 2025, revenue hit $177.1 million, up 12.9% year-over-year, while subscription revenue grew 14.4% to $150.8 million. ARR now stands at $618.5 million, with ~65% gross margins, a solid sign of scalability in tax tech.
• Market Cap: Around $3.95 billion, backed by consistent ~15% growth in recent quarters.
• Kintsugi: After an $18 million funding round led by Vertex earlier this year, the startup doubled its valuation to $150 million post-money. Its 2024 revenue was roughly $3 million, targeting $10+ million for 2025, with a mind-blowing 0.1% churn rate.

That kind of stickiness is rare in SaaS, especially among SMB solutions. It suggests that once firms plug into Kintsugi, they stay. And Vertex isn’t stopping there; its certified integrations with SAP, Oracle, Coupa, and Shopify position it well for the upcoming wave of cloud ERP migrations, which is expected to accelerate demand for compliance automation.

Tax Tech That Actually Clicks

Kintsugi, powered by Vertex, isn’t just about automation; it’s about intelligent simplification. Here’s what it’s packing under the hood:

Compliance on Cruise Control

• Nexus monitoring & registration: Auto-tracks where your business hits new tax thresholds.
• Product-level categorization: Smart mapping of SKUs and items to correct tax classes.
• Filing & remittance: End-to-end support that trims weeks off traditional filing cycles.
• Dashboards: Real-time views into liabilities, jurisdiction exposure, and risk status.

Brains Behind the Bot

• Predictive compliance: AI continuously scans for law changes or inconsistencies before they become problems.
• Natural language explainability: Ask “Why is this invoice taxed differently?” and get a clean answer, not code gibberish.
• ERP-friendly design: It’s plug-and-play across systems, no “rip and replace” nightmares.

That flexibility is huge. For firms using QuickBooks, NetSuite, or Xero, the ERP-agnostic approach means they can tap into enterprise-grade tax intelligence without uprooting existing workflows.

Why Tax Pros Should Care

Here’s why professionals, from CPAs to CFOs, should have this on their radar:

• No More Fire Drills: The platform catches nexus risks or classification errors before the IRS does.
• Faster Filing Seasons: Think less manual mapping, fewer spreadsheets, and smoother quarter-ends.
• Audit Confidence: AI explanations make it easy to show the “why” behind every number.
• Cost Advantage: SMBs can finally afford tech that rivals Fortune 500 compliance systems.
• Scalable Growth: The same AI backbone supports firms as they scale from $10M to $500M+.

This is what Kintsugi CEO Pujun Bhatnagar meant when he said, “Our partnership with Vertex brings together deep tax expertise and AI-native automation to deliver clarity and control, helping teams stay focused on growth while simplifying compliance.”

No Silver Bullets, But Plenty of Firepower

Let’s be real, AI doesn’t make every tax headache disappear. Edge cases (like cross-border VAT or exemption certificates) still need human judgment. And as always, garbage data in means garbage results out. But compared to older systems, this is a massive leap forward. Earlier this year, Qount AI launched an AI-powered 1099 workflow that cuts prep time by up to 67% and speeds up review cycles by 50%, turning January’s tax-season panic into easy wins. Tools like Sovos’s Sovi, the world’s first AI platform predicting tax rule changes, or Accordance’s $13M raise to automate audit prep, AI is rewriting the tax tech playbook. Vertex’s latest move just pushes it further into the spotlight.

Tax Just Got Its AI Glow-Up

Kintsugi powered by Vertex isn’t just about catching up; it’s about redefining the game. It democratizes access to enterprise-level compliance tools, making automation accessible for every business that’s tired of wrestling with tax forms at 11 PM. For tax professionals, it’s the difference between hoping you got it right and knowing you did. And as AI-driven platforms become the norm, this partnership positions Vertex at the center of a fast-evolving, billion-dollar industry. Missed our earlier deep dive into AI-tax collaborations? 

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