Blue J raises $167.4-million CAD Series D after AI tax research platform more than doubles revenue

Funding to bolster Toronto startup’s team expansion, product development, and market reach.

Toronto-based Blue J, which provides artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tax research software, has raised a $122-million USD ($167.4-million CAD) Series D round on the heels of rapid growth. 

First reported by The Globe and Mail, the round was led by American venture capital firms Oak HC/FT and Sapphire Ventures, with participation from Toronto-based Intrepid Growth Partners as well as returning investors Ten Coves Capital and the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants’ business subsidiary CPA.com. Blue J CEO Ben Alarie declined to disclose to BetaKit if the round had a secondary capital component, and said other undisclosed existing investors also participated in the round.

Blue J now serves more than 2,500 organizations, up from 200 in 2021.

Around $161 million CAD came from investors outside of Canada, and just under $6.4 million CAD came from Canadian investors, according to SEDAR filings. The Globe and Mail reported that the round valued the company at more than $300 million USD ($413 million CAD). 

“This is by far the biggest financing we have closed to date,” Alarie told BetaKit.

The company claims the raise follows significant growth in the first half of 2025, which included more than doubling its revenue and customer base, as well as increasing its headcount to more than 80 employees. 

Lead investor Oak HC/FT said Blue J now serves more than 2,500 organizations, including big accounting names like KPMG, RSM, Crowe, and Larson Gross. Oak claimed that the company has had two consecutive years of tripling its annual recurring revenue (ARR) growth, with more than 50 percent of its ARR tied to multi-year contracts. Alarie declined to disclose the company’s revenue numbers, but told BetaKit that Blue J has hired about 40 people this year.

Founded in 2015 by Alarie, CTO Brett Janssen, Anthony Niblett, and Albert Yoon, Blue J aims to make the law more transparent and accessible for tax practitioners. Using OpenAI’s large language models, Blue J claims its platform can answer questions about federal, state, and local taxes in the United States as well as Canadian and United Kingdom tax law. The company previously raised an $11.3 million Series B in 2021, when it had 65 employees and more than 200 customers. 

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Blue J said it would use its latest funding to accelerate its team expansion, product development, and market reach.

“We are essentially hiring across the board and will move as quickly as we can to find the right talent,” Alarie told BetaKit.

The Series D round comes just seven months after Blue J closed an undisclosed all-equity Series C investment led by Ten Coves Capital in December 2024, which the company said it would use to facilitate global expansion and enhance its AI capabilities. Alarie wouldn’t say how much Blue J raised from the Series C round, but the company said in SEDAR filings that it had received an $8.3-million CAD investment from outside of Canada in December as well as a $1.4 million raise in early January.

Blue J became the preferred partner solution for CPA.com earlier this year, not too long after striking a similar partnership with CPA Canada. The two organizations represent more than 600,000 professional accountants across North America combined.  

UPDATE (08/06/2025): This story has been updated with information and commentary from Blue J CEO Ben Alarie.

Feature image courtesy Blue J.

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