Pigment, a French AI company challenging Microsoft’s Excel and PowerPoint, has secured $250 million in funding, boosting its ambitions to compete with a tech giant. The financing round, led by the Scaleup Europe Fund and backed by Nvidia Corp. and World Innovation Lab, values the company at $2.3 billion. Existing investors Iconiq, IVP, and Meritech Capital also participated, with Pigment planning to add Asian investors to support its regional expansion.
Founded in 2019, Pigment develops AI-powered software for financial forecasting, slide creation, and operational planning. The company aims to convince office workers to integrate AI into their workflows, a more challenging task than convincing software engineers. Pigment serves clients like Anthropic PBC and is targeting users of SAP, Oracle, IBM, and Anaplan, as well as Microsoft.
Eléonore Crespo, Pigment’s co-founder and CEO, emphasizes the need for AI systems to be user-friendly from day one. She highlights that AI tools must feel intuitive and seamlessly integrate with existing data and systems. French cosmetics company L’Oreal SA is deploying Pigment for salary planning across its 95,000 employees. Pigment’s annual recurring revenue has doubled to over $100 million, with expectations to double again next year.
The company’s growth aligns with Europe’s broader AI strategy, focusing on building AI applications for various industries. Pigment plans to develop AI agents that enhance existing enterprise resource planning software, covering tasks like accounting and human resources. Shannee Braun of EQT, which oversees the Scaleup Europe Fund, notes Pigment’s strength in helping clients use AI agents for diverse planning processes.