Billie founder raises €12M for AI tax startup Skalar after €110M exit

Key Takeaways

• Florian Böß raised €12M in combined pre-seed and seed funding for Munich-based Skalar
• Böß previously sold B2B BNPL startup Billie to Klarna for €110M after raising €584M
• Skalar targets the gap between legacy accounting software and pure AI agents

Florian Böß, who sold his B2B buy-now-pay-later company Billie to Klarna for €110 million last year, has raised €12 million for his next company. Skalar, a Munich-based AI tax and accounting startup, pulled in the combined pre-seed and seed round from Greenoaks Capital, RTP Global, Ribbit, FJ Labs, and Vsquared.

The funding is unusually large for an early-stage European startup, but Böß brings a track record that makes backers comfortable writing bigger checks. Billie raised €584 million over its lifetime and grew to roughly 40 employees before the Klarna deal closed in late 2024.

Why Böß sees opportunity in AI accounting

After the Klarna exit, Böß spent time studying where AI could have the most impact in enterprise software. Tax and accounting stood out because the work is structured, data-heavy, and repetitive. Perfect conditions for automation.

The positioning matters. Pure AI agents promise to handle tasks end-to-end but often stumble on edge cases. Legacy software is reliable but clunky and slow. Böß is betting Skalar can occupy the middle ground, blending AI capabilities with the structured workflows accountants already trust.

What Skalar is building

Details on the product remain thin. According to Sifted, Skalar is developing AI tools for tax and accounting workflows in Germany, with plans to expand across Europe. The company is targeting mid-market businesses that find enterprise solutions too expensive and small-business tools too limited.

Sebastian Pollok, general partner at Greenoaks, pointed to Böß's execution history as a key factor in the investment. "We have the utmost belief and trust in his ability to deliver," Pollok told Sifted. Greenoaks has backed 34 startups including major names in fintech and enterprise software.

The investor lineup signals confidence in both the founder and the category. Ribbit Capital has a strong fintech track record. RTP Global backs enterprise software across Europe. FJ Labs, founded by serial entrepreneur Fabrice Grinda, writes checks into marketplace and vertical SaaS companies.

The German accounting software market

Germany's accounting and tax compliance requirements are notoriously complex. Small businesses often rely on external tax advisors rather than software, creating friction and cost. DATEV, a cooperative owned by German tax advisors, dominates the market but faces criticism for outdated interfaces and slow innovation.

Several startups have tried to modernize the space. Taxfix focuses on consumer tax filing. Accountable targets freelancers. Candis and Moss handle expense management and corporate cards. But none have cracked AI-native accounting for the Mittelstand, Germany's powerful small and medium enterprise sector.

Skalar's AI approach could accelerate document processing, categorization, and compliance checks. If the technology works, it would reduce the manual hours accountants spend on routine tasks. That's the pitch, anyway. Execution will determine whether Skalar becomes a category leader or another well-funded experiment.

Böß on AI hype versus reality

In a recent LinkedIn post, Böß wrote about founders using AI for products that don't actually need it. His view: AI should solve specific workflow problems, not serve as a marketing buzzword. That pragmatism comes through in how he describes Skalar's positioning between legacy tools and pure agents.

"Everybody has been building companies where all you do is bring AI into the workflow yourself, even if a big language model tool or ChatGPT does it," Böß said. "We want those to just go on because we have the systems behind to do so, and then come to us to compare to our competitors."

The quote suggests Skalar will handle AI infrastructure so businesses don't have to stitch together their own solutions. If true, the company would compete less with general-purpose AI tools and more with specialized accounting software.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Skalar and what does it do?

Skalar is a Munich-based startup building AI-powered tax and accounting software. It targets the gap between legacy accounting tools and pure AI agents, focusing initially on the German market.

How much funding has Skalar raised?

Skalar raised €12 million in combined pre-seed and seed funding from Greenoaks Capital, RTP Global, Ribbit, FJ Labs, and Vsquared.

Who is Florian Böß?

Florian Böß is a German entrepreneur who co-founded Billie, a B2B buy-now-pay-later company that raised €584 million before selling to Klarna for €110 million in 2024. He is now CEO and co-founder of Skalar.

Who are Skalar's investors?

Skalar's investors include Greenoaks Capital (which has backed Stripe and Figma), RTP Global, Ribbit Capital, FJ Labs, and Vsquared. Several angel investors also participated.

When was Billie sold to Klarna?

Klarna acquired Billie in late 2024 for approximately €110 million, adding B2B buy-now-pay-later capabilities to its consumer-focused payments platform.

Source: Sifted