Abacum is headquartered in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, and I live out here permanently with my family. 

Our latest Series B funding round of $60 million, led by San Francisco-headquartered Scale Venture Partners, further cemented our existing transatlantic foundations. Make no mistake, we are all in on the US market, and here’s why we’re betting big on it for the long term. 

We’ve been global from day one, but the US has become our centre of gravity

Abacum may have started in Europe, but we approached the business with an international mindset from the get-go. Our top priority was always minimising day-to-day complexity for global finance teams, which meant our first customers were already operating across multiple regions. Some of the earliest US customers – who we still work with to this day – included RaptorMaps, RapidSOS, and Flipside Crypto. 

We have always focussed ruthlessly on solving a global problem, free from the constraints of localisation, and demonstrated an early and major commitment to establishing a real presence here. 

We did not launch in the US, but compounded an incremental expansion

Many European startups announce a big US “launch” as a new chapter. We didn’t. From day one, we targeted US businesses systematically and incrementally. We understood it was not about a big splash, but steady, consistent progress, drop by drop – until we were everywhere.

We’ve seen a real swathe of product-focused interest from US-based finance teams and already serve customers such as Strava, Abridge, Formation Bio, Replit, Kajabi, JG Wentworth, Dish, and hundreds more. They’re moving fast, thinking strategically, and are hungry for more AI-based technology that actually supports the pace and complexity of their planning cycles. 

European startups are scaling earlier with intention

Research from Index Ventures shows that 64% of European startups now expand to the US at the pre-seed or seed stage. This is up from just 33% five years ago. Why? Well, there is a growing trend amongst founders to think globally from the start and to build a product that can be sold internationally from the very beginning. The US, as the world’s largest economy, is typically earmarked by founders as the most important market to tackle head on. 

This is especially applicable to software companies such as Abacum. Our product addresses a universal pain point for finance teams, so we simply had to be a business that operated worldwide. Other categories like tax, HR, and accounting software are inherently bound by localisation requirements due to their deep integration with local laws, regulations, and business practices. These companies must adapt country to country and even within the different regions of a single country, whereas Abacum is not subject to the same limitations.

Having a co-founder move to the US is the ultimate show of commitment

There is no greater display of commitment for a truly global business founded in Europe than to move one of the founders out to the US permanently. This was not only a huge personal and professional adjustment for me, but also a major strategic step in establishing our base here.

Developing a local presence is a crucial step for any business aiming to build meaningful customer relationships, attract top local talent, ensure cultural density within the company, and gain a deep understanding of market dynamics. Without a founder on the ground, you are simply competing at a disadvantage.

Having leadership present in person enables faster decision-making, stronger relationship-building, and greater agility in navigating market nuances. It signals deep, long-term dedication to scaling operations and impact in North America.

As we look ahead, our focus is clear – deepen our roots in the US while continuing to support our global customer base. The momentum we’re seeing here isn’t a coincidence. It’s been the result of years of intentional strategy, product-market fit, and relentless execution.

We’re not here to test the waters; we’re here to lead. And with the backing of world-class investors, a team that spans continents, and a product built for modern finance teams, we’re more committed than ever to making Abacum the go-to business planning platform for ambitious companies across the US and beyond.