Marble enters the race to bring AI to tax work, armed with $9 million and a free research tool

Marble, a startup building artificial intelligence agents for tax professionals, has raised $9 million in seed funding as the accounting industry grapples with a deepening labor shortage and mounting regulatory complexity.

The round, led by Susa Ventures with participation from MXV Capital and Konrad Capital, positions Marble to compete in a market where AI adoption has lagged significantly behind other knowledge industries like law and software development.

"When we looked at the economy and asked ourselves where AI is going to transform the way businesses operate, we focused on knowledge industries — specifically businesses with hourly fee-based service models," said Bhavin Shah, Marble's chief executive officer, in an exclusive interview with VentureBeat. "Accounting generates $250 billion in fee-based billing in the US every year. There's a tremendous opportunity to increase efficiency and improve margins for accounting firms."

The company has launched a free AI-powered tax research tool on its website that converts complex government tax data into accessible, citation-backed answers for practitioners. Marble plans to expand into AI agents that can analyze compliance scenarios and eventually automate portions of tax preparation workflows.

Marble's backers share Shah's conviction about the market. "Marble is rethinking the accounting system from the ground up. Accounting is one of the biggest — and most overlooked — markets in professional services," Chad Byers, general partner at Susa Ventures, told VentureBeat. "We've known Bhavin from his time as an executive in the Susa portfolio, and have seen firsthand how sharp and execution-driven he is. He and Geordie bring the perfect mix of operational depth and product instinct to a space long overdue for change — and they see the same massive opportunity we do."

The accounting industry lost 340,000 workers in four years — and replacements aren't coming

Marble enters a market shaped by structural forces that have fundamentally altered the economics of professional accounting.

The accounting profession has shed roughly 340,000 workers since 2019, a 17% decline that has left firms scrambling to meet client demands. First-time candidates for the Certified Public Accountant exam dropped 33% between 2016 and 2021, according to AICPA data, and 2022 saw the lowest number of exam takers in 17 years.

The exodus comes as baby boomers exit en masse. The American Institute of CPAs estimates that approximately 75% of all licensed CPAs reached retirement age by 2019, creating a demographic cliff that the profession has struggled to address.

“Fewer CPAs are getting certified year over year," Shah said. "The industry is compressing at the same time that there's more work to be done and the tax code is getting more complicated."

The National Pipeline Advisory Group, a multi-stakeholder body formed by the AICPA in July 2023, released a report identifying the 150-hour education requirement for CPA licensure as a significant barrier to entry. A separate survey by the Center for Audit Quality found that 57% of business majors who chose not to pursue accounting cited the additional credit hours as a deterrent.

Recent legislative changes reflect the urgency. Ohio now offers alternatives to the 150-hour requirement, signaling that states are willing to experiment with pathways that could reverse enrollment declines.

Why AI transformed law and software development but left accounting behind

Despite the profession's challenges, AI adoption in accounting has moved more slowly than in adjacent knowledge industries. Harvey and Legora have raised hundreds of millions to bring AI to legal work. Cursor and other coding assistants have transformed software development. Accounting, by contrast, remains largely dependent on legacy research platforms and manual processes.

Geordie Konrad, Marble's executive chairman and a co-founder of restaurant software company TouchBistro, attributes the gap to how people conceptualize AI's capabilities.

“It was obvious to many people that LLMs could do meaningful work by manipulating code for software developers and manipulating words for lawyers. In the accounting industry, LLMs are going to be used as reasoning agents," Konrad said. " That requires a bit more of a two-step analysis to see why it's a big opportunity."

The technical challenge is substantial. Tax regulations form one of the most complex, interconnected information systems that humans have created — tens of thousands of interlocking rules, guidance documents, and jurisdiction-specific requirements that frequently overlap or conflict.

"If you want to put AI through its paces and ask how far it's come in replicating cognitive functions, this is an unbelievable playground to work in," Konrad said.

A dramatic shift: AI adoption among tax and finance teams doubles in one year

Recent data suggests the accounting profession's stance toward AI is shifting rapidly.

A 2025 survey from Hanover Research and Avalara found that 84% of finance and tax teams now use AI heavily in their operations, up from 47% in 2024. The 2025 Generative AI in Professional Services Report from Thomson Reuters Institute found that 21% of tax firms already use generative AI technology, with 53% either planning to adopt it or actively considering it.

Large accounting firms have invested heavily in AI infrastructure. Deloitte has developed generative AI capabilities within its audit platform. BDO announced a $1B investment in AI over the next five years. EY launched an AI platform combining technology with strategy, transactions, and tax services. PwC estimates a complete AI-driven audit solution will launch by 2026.

But adoption at smaller firms remains uneven. According to Thomson Reuters research, 52% of tax firm respondents who use generative AI rely on open-source tools like ChatGPT rather than industry-specific solutions—a pattern that could shift as purpose-built alternatives emerge.

Marble's founders believe the hesitance stems not from technophobia but from a lack of compelling options.

“Firms want to embrace AI," Shah said. “They just haven't seen great software and tooling made for them. That's part of the opportunity — to work with them and build something they're excited to use on a day-to-day basis.”

Can artificial intelligence rescue accounting's billable-hour business model?

AI's arrival in accounting raises questions about the profession's billing structure.

Accounting firms have traditionally generated profits by billing clients for staff time, often at multiples of employee compensation costs. Junior associates performing compliance work represent a significant revenue stream. If AI can automate that work, does it undercut the business model firms depend on?

Marble's founders argue the opposite. The chronic staffing shortage has already constrained firms' ability to capture available revenue. Advisory and consulting work — higher-margin services that clients actively want — goes undone because practitioners are buried in compliance tasks.

"Everyone in the industry agrees that an enormous amount of advisory work simply isn't getting done," Konrad said. "Customers want it. Firms want to do it because it's high-margin, great work. But nobody gets to it."

The 2025 AICPA National Management of an Accounting Practice Survey supports this view. Firms reported a median 6.7% increase in net client fees over the prior year, with growth in audit, assurance, tax services, and client accounting advisory. Net remaining per partner climbed 11.9% from fiscal year 2022 to fiscal year 2024, reaching $252,663.

The survey also found growing interest in AI adoption, though most firms have yet to allocate formal budgets or develop structured training programs. Continued adoption, the survey suggested, could help expand services and fuel continued growth.

Accountants won't adopt AI tools they can't trust with sensitive client data

For AI to succeed in accounting, it must clear a high bar for data security. Accounting firms handle some of the most sensitive financial information in the economy. Practitioners cannot adopt tools that create compliance or confidentiality risks.

According to Avalara's survey, 63% of respondents cited data security and privacy concerns as the top barriers to automating tax and finance functions. The concern persists throughout the adoption lifecycle, from initial selection through implementation and ongoing use.

Marble has made security a foundational priority. The company obtained software compliance certification before releasing any product and maintains that data privacy is embedded in its operational culture from day one.

"Security is at the core of what we are building," Shah said. "Every employee knows that security is critical. It's a part of our onboarding and something that we consider in everything we do."

From number crunchers to strategic advisors: How AI could reshape accounting careers

Marble's founders reject the narrative that AI will only take away from accounting jobs. They propose instead that AI will result in accounting jobs becoming more strategic and less characterized by repetitive execution. 

They draw an analogy to architecture, where computer-aided design replaced laborious manual drafting. Architects did not disappear — they gained tools that let them spend more time on creative design and less on mechanical reproduction.

"If you take some of the hours-intensive, less creative work out of what being a junior or intermediate accountant is, and you replace it with a role where you're a professional who is being creative, synthesizing ideas, and able to delegate a lot of tasks to AI assistant platform solutions, you end up with an industry that's just a lot more fun to operate in," Konrad said.

The shift could also improve client outcomes. When accountants spend less time on compliance, they can invest more in the strategic advisory work that clients value.

"Not only does the work become more enjoyable because of what you can focus on, but that's also what your clients are going to value more from you," Shah said.

The competitive landscape: Marble faces well-funded rivals and legacy giants

Marble enters a market with formidable incumbents and well-funded competitors. BlueJ, a global tax research platform, has raised over $100 million. Thomson Reuters, CCH, and Intuit have deep customer relationships built over decades.

But the founders see opportunity in the transition moment.

"AI has changed what’s possible in the industry," Shah said. "We are going to work with and integrate with some technology players in the industry and also compete with other players with new products powered by AI. In some cases we are going to forget about the existing technology solution for doing things and go back to the task itself. We have totally new technological capabilities — how would you design something from a blank canvas that works with humans to accomplish that task?""

The decision to offer a free research tool reflects Marble's go-to-market philosophy. By giving practitioners access without a paywall, the company aims to build trust and demonstrate capability.

"It allows us to expose a really compelling product that is purpose-built to those that are worried about how to use AI or question how to adopt it.  Now they don’t have to think about purchasing something that is cost-prohibitive when they don't know how to integrate it into their workflow," Shah said.

The $250 billion question: Can a startup transform how America does its taxes?

Marble's roadmap extends beyond research. The company plans to develop AI agents capable of analyzing complex tax scenarios, identifying compliance issues, and eventually automating significant portions of compliance workflows — all while keeping practitioners in control.

The founders frame success not in terms of disruption but rebalancing. Today's tax work skews heavily toward compliance, leaving the strategic advisory services that clients crave — and that generate higher margins—perpetually undone. Marble's bet is that AI can flip that equation.

"Everyone wants it to look more like compliance is done simpler, and you spend time talking about strategy and planning," Konrad said. "How do we change that blend of compliance versus strategy and planning to strategy and planning first—with compliance as something that has been made dramatically simpler?"

Whether Marble can execute on that vision remains to be seen. The company faces entrenched competitors, a profession that has historically resisted technological change, and the inherent unpredictability of building AI systems for high-stakes financial work.

But the founders are betting that the industry's demographic shift will accelerate adoption in ways that previous technology waves could not. With fewer accountants entering the profession each year and client demands only growing, firms may have an increased appetite to embrace tools that let their remaining staff do more.

"AI is going to change every industry — in some cases in ways that will help business models and in some cases in ways that will challenge them. We believe AI is ultimately going to make accounting firms’ businesses better and more profitable and at the same time end clients will get better services at better prices," Shah said.

The accounting profession, it seems, is about to find out which side of that equation it lands on.