Sterling raises NZD $3.8 million to automate finance

New Zealand finance software startup Sterling has raised NZD $3.8 million in a funding round led by Blackbird, extending a run of backing from founders and early employees tied to earlier New Zealand technology companies.

Investors in the round included Rowan Simpson, Eliot Crowther and other alumni of Trade Me, Pushpay, Xero and Vend. Sterling was founded by Nik Wakelin and Ludwig Wendzich and has teams in Wellington and Auckland.

The startup is developing software for finance and accounting teams that automates routine work such as processing invoices, reconciling bank feeds and handling month-end tasks. It is designed to work with existing finance systems and inboxes rather than replace them, while recording actions and referring unclear cases to staff.

Early customers include internal finance teams at Manukora, Storypark and Echelon. Development has also been supported by a government research and development grant.

Founders' background

Wakelin previously co-founded time-tracking software MinuteDock and developer documentation tool Gelato.io, and later held a senior engineering role at Deliveroo. Wendzich spent close to a decade leading product and design at Vend and then at Lightspeed after Vend's acquisition, following earlier work as a Senior Front-End Engineer at Apple.

The idea for the business came from the founders' exposure to finance work at home. Both said they saw experienced finance staff spending long hours on manual tasks, including accruals, approvals, and accounts payable cleanup.

Wendzich pointed to the company's ties to earlier New Zealand technology businesses.

"Almost everyone at Sterling, including our investors, cut their teeth at companies like Vend and Xero. We're the ones who learned how to build world-class software from New Zealand - now we're doing it again, for the people who keep every business running," said Ludwig Wendzich, Co-Founder, Sterling.

Wakelin said Sterling aims to move beyond AI tools that rely on constant user input.

"Every finance team is experimenting with AI right now, but a co-pilot only works while you're at the keyboard. Sterling is the autopilot – it keeps working when your laptop is closed and you're asleep," said Nik Wakelin, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Sterling.

He added: "Finance teams don't want another chatbot to talk to about their work. They want something that does the work."

Investor view

The funding comes as finance departments test a growing number of AI products aimed at accounting and back-office tasks. Sterling argues that finance teams need software that can manage ongoing processes across multiple workflows, rather than isolated tools for individual jobs.

Blackbird said that was a factor in its decision to lead the round.

"Finance teams are drowning in AI demos and point solutions across single workflows. But what's missing is a product that offers reliability and scales beyond the first use, this is what Sterling delivers.

"This is only possible with founders who deeply understand the problem. Nik and Ludwig are exactly that - they're obsessed with the details and delivering a product that can be shaped to the challenges of each customer they serve, scalably," said James Palmer, Principal, Blackbird.

Palmer added a separate assessment of the product's early use. "The first time we saw Sterling clear a tedious month-end workload, it was obvious. This is what the future of finance teams looks like," he said.

Expansion plans

The new funding will be used to hire and expand into larger customers in New Zealand, Australia and the United States. That marks a shift from early deployments with smaller internal finance teams toward broader corporate adoption.

Wakelin said market trust would be central as the company grows. "Our buyers don't care about hype. They're finance people – they want to see it work. This funding lets us put Sterling in front of a lot more of them and prove it," he said.

He also outlined what Sterling sees as the next stage of its commercial push. "When a CFO takes us to their board, we need to be a name they already trust. That's what the next 12 months is about: proving an AI teammate can do real finance work, reliably, with every action logged and explained," said Wakelin.

Wendzich described the broader effects of AI on the profession. "The impact of AI on accounting workflows is going to be seismic. Accountants will see their roles shift from operational to strategic, and we're excited to get them there," he said.