ServiceNow backs BUSINESSNEXT with USD 40 million to advance AI-led banking operations

The investment supports autonomous banking, private AI deployments and deeper integration between customer engagement and operational workflows.

ServiceNow has invested USD 40 million in BUSINESSNEXT, an Indian banking software and AI solutions company, to help expand AI-led and autonomous banking operations across the financial services sector.

The investment is part of BUSINESSNEXT's Series C funding round and values the company at USD 700 million.

The investment will support BUSINESSNEXT's strategy around autonomous banking, private AI and AI-driven operational transformation for banks and financial institutions.

BUSINESSNEXT provides customer engagement, customer relationship management (CRM), digital lending and AI-powered banking platforms for financial services organisations. The company said the new funding will strengthen its efforts around autonomous operations and private AI deployments to meet banking requirements around security, governance, compliance and data sovereignty.

"Autonomous banking is not a vision we are chasing, it is a category we have been building for years," said Nishant Singh, CEO, BUSINESSNEXT.

"Today, as AI has matured, this investment will further accelerate our efforts to deliver Private AI solutions, meeting the unique needs of banking and financial services, helping ensure the highest level of security while meeting all regulatory governance frameworks and sovereignty aspects."

Connecting customer engagement with operations

Alongside the investment, the companies are expanding collaboration to build what they describe as a unified autonomous operating model for financial services organisations.

Under the arrangement, BUSINESSNEXT's customer-facing platforms will work alongside ServiceNow's Financial Services Operations (FSO) platform.

BUSINESSNEXT will continue to manage customer acquisition, engagement and real-time customer intelligence, while ServiceNow's platform will orchestrate middle- and back-office functions, including case management, complaints handling and agentic AI workflows.

The objective is to eliminate fragmented workflows and create a connected operational environment across financial institutions by bringing customer intelligence and operational execution together within a single workflow. The companies said the approach will help banks and insurers automate business processes while maintaining regulatory controls.

According to ServiceNow, financial institutions are entering a new phase of AI adoption.

"India's financial services sector is at an inflection point — institutions are moving from digital experimentation to full-scale AI-led operations," said Kulmeet Bawa, group vice president and managing director, India & SAARC, ServiceNow.

"ServiceNow's investment in BUSINESSNEXT is a direct bet on that transformation, bringing together deep banking intelligence and enterprise-grade AI orchestration to help Indian banks and insurers move faster, serve customers better, and operate with far greater efficiency."

The companies believe the next phase of AI adoption in financial services will require industry-specific platforms capable of addressing regulatory, governance and operational requirements.

BUSINESSNEXT said its platform combines AI-led decision-making, customer intelligence and agent-driven execution specifically for banks and financial institutions.

Commenting on the broader opportunity, Singh said the collaboration marks a shift towards connecting customer intelligence with enterprise execution in real time.

"The collaboration with ServiceNow marks a turning point for the global banking industry — one that finally connects customer intelligence with enterprise execution in real time," Singh said.

He added that combining banking intelligence with AI-led customer engagement capabilities can help financial institutions operate with greater speed, intelligence and coordination across customer and operational functions.

Addresses growing demand for automation

The companies also said the partnership reflects India's growing role in developing AI technologies for the global financial services industry.

As banks and insurers move beyond AI experimentation and into production deployments, both organisations see increasing demand for platforms that can support automation across customer engagement, lending, servicing and operational workflows.

BUSINESSNEXT said its platform combines CRM, digital lending and AI capabilities designed specifically for the banking sector, while ServiceNow brings workflow orchestration, operational automation and AI-driven service management capabilities.

The investment deepens the relationship between the two companies as financial institutions increasingly look to combine customer engagement, lending, servicing and operational workflows on AI-powered platforms rather than deploying standalone automation tools.