Startup Yokoy Leverages Artificial Intelligence to Manage Corporate Spend

Startup Yokoy Leverages Artificial Intelligence to Manage Corporate Spend

In the Elevator Pitch blog series, startup companies that are backed by SIX FinTech Ventures or which took part in the programs run by the F10 FinTech Incubator & Accelerator introduce themselves. Today you’ll get acquainted with Yokoy. CEO and co-founder Philippe Sahli explains how he and his team aim to revolutionize corporate spend management.

What Does SIX Do for Startups?

SIX is the founder and principal minority shareholder of the F10 FinTech Incubator & Accelerator and operates its own corporate venture capital fund through SIX FinTech Ventures. In the Elevator Pitch blog series, startups that are backed by SIX FinTech Ventures or which took part the programs run by the F10 FinTech Incubator & Accelerator introduce themselves.

Today’s pitch is being made by Philippe Sahli, the co-founder and CEO of the startup Yokoy, which was a winner at the 2021 Swiss FinTech Awards, made a successful showing on the Höhle der Löwen (Shark Tank) TV show, and was a finalist at the 2021 Swiss Economic Forum. SIX FinTech Ventures has been invested in Yokoy since 2020. The startup company also took part in the F10 scale-up program.

The founders of Yokoy (from left to right): Dr. Devis Lussi (CTO), Thomas Inhelder (CFO), Philippe Sahli (CEO), Melanie Gabriel (CMO), Lars Mangelsdorf (CCO).

The founders of Yokoy (from left to right): Dr. Devis Lussi (CTO), Thomas Inhelder (CFO), Philippe Sahli (CEO), Melanie Gabriel (CMO), Lars Mangelsdorf (CCO).

What Does Yokoy Do?

“We assist the finance departments of midsize and large companies with our solution. As an all-in-one solution, Yokoy consolidates all corporate spend on a centralized platform and automates the clearing and settlement of them with the help of artificial intelligence, regardless of whether it’s a matter of supplier invoices, employee business expenses, or credit card invoices. We help companies to save time and to cut corporate spend management costs by up to 90%. It costs a company an estimated 58 US dollars to process a single expense account report and between 12 and 32 US dollars to process an invoice. With Yokoy software, we can process expense account reports up to 90% without human intervention and can detect fraud with excellent reliability. Yokoy software also gives companies valuable insights into their data: comprehensive analytics functions enable Yokoy to detect patterns and trends in expenditures, providing a foundation for reaping further savings potential and making target-driven business decisions.”

Yokoy consolidates all corporate spend on a centralized platform with the help of artificial intelligence

Philippe Sahli, CEO and co-founder of Yokoy

How Do the Experts at F10 and SIX FinTech Ventures Rate the Startup Yokoy?

Maximilian Spelmeyer, Chief Investment Officer of F10 and Team Lead SIX FinTech Ventures explains why he finds the subject of expense accounts and spend management relevant, gives his estimate of Yokoy’s market potential, and tells why he believes in the startup.

1. Why We Find This Subject Relevant

Handling expense accounts and managing spend are core processes at almost every company, yet there are hardly any automated tools for that available today. As virtually everyone knows from his or her personal experience, logging expenses is tedious work. Yokoy provides an automation solution here that can quickly log expenditures by leveraging artificial intelligence.

2. Our Estimate of the Market Potential

Yokoy addresses “hidden champions” as its customer base. The market potential is enormous because there are many such companies, which form the backbone of the economy. Yokoy today has already expanded to Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands.

3. Why We Believe in This Startup

We have been backing Yokoy since the seed funding round in January 2020. Despite the intense competition in Yokoy’s business sector, we believed in the startup’s technology right from the outset and are confident that the team has the drive it takes to build a global player. You could say that we haven’t been disappointed thus far and that Yokoy is growing like gangbusters.

Read more about the startup Yokoy in the magazine PAY from SIX.