🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Onshore’s funding is a bet against billable hours

• Onshore says its CEO noticed the issue while working at a top ten firm. Many corporate tax teams bill by the hour, which can push results down the list 1.
• Many established tax providers use statistical sampling to estimate R&D tax credits (a U.S. incentive that rewards qualified research and development spending). That can miss credits or raise audit risk 1.
• Onshore says its platform checks every business component. It says studies run 90% faster and find about 15% more eligible credits 1.
• The product targets the R&D Tax Credit, the 179D Deduction (an energy-efficiency tax break tied to commercial buildings), and cost segregation studies (a method for accelerating depreciation by reclassifying parts of a property) 1.

Specialized AI is unbundling the professional services industry

• Onshore raised US$31 million in a Series B led by FPV Ventures. The round backs software that automates specialized professional work beyond general-purpose chatbots.
• Startups can peel off one inefficient service line and run it better. That pressure lands on large accounting firms that still depend on manual steps 1.
• Venture capitalists have moved from “FOMO to ‘prove it’ mode” for Series B rounds 2.
• Onshore has more than 500 customer companies. It also says it has helped find and defend over US$600 million in incentives, which can outshine untested tools.