Factorial completes the jump to AI for companies with a new personal agent

BarcelonaFactorial, the Catalan company specializing in business management software, which ranks among the scale-ups most valuable in Europe, has completed its leap into artificial intelligence with the launch of One, an AI agent for companies dedicated to "connecting information and automating work".

"All the work that can be done with an agent can be done by One," highlighted the executive director of the Barcelona-based tech firm, Jordi Romero, in a meeting with journalists. The launch comes just a few weeks after the acquisition of Empion, a German emerging company dedicated to talent management using artificial intelligence.

According to Romero, the bet on an AI agent to accompany the employees of Factorial's clients comes in light of the appetite of European companies for technology. Companies on the continent "are curious about using artificial intelligence, but also insecure." Faced with this interest, Factorial proposes a solution "capable not only of understanding an organization's information but also of acting on it and executing tasks."

The executive director highlighted the "prudence" of the private sector to ensure that any application they integrate into the company is in compliance with community regulations. In this sense, One has been developed by the tech firm itself, based on a combination of Microsoft models, and provides "good responses" to regulations such as the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or the Artificial Intelligence Act.

Substantial growth

The company's commitment to AI comes just months after its latest Series D funding round, with which it raised 150 million dollars. This investment raised Factorial's value to 2.5 billion dollars and placed the tech company among the most highly valued in Europe.

The increase in valuation has been accompanied by growth in activity: the Catalan company already registers 17,000 business clients, which add up to more than 1.3 million users. It expects to close the year with a workforce of about 1,900 employees, 35% more than the previous year. This growth has been mostly organic, although lately the company has accelerated its acquisition strategy, with the operations of Empion itself and the Galician firm YepCode. Romero, in this regard, has assured that Factorial is "very active in exploring acquisitions" in several European markets, mainly Spain, France, Germany, Italy, and Portugal.

One of the great growth focuses for the Barcelona-based tech company has been Germany. Apart from the acquisition of Empion, Factorial has recently opened a corporate office in Munich, mostly dedicated to commercial tasks. The German market, as detailed by the company, is growing "at more than 100% year-on-year," and more than 1,700 companies in the country already rely on its services.

Romero explains the penetration into the German ecosystem by the high professionalization and growth trend of local small and medium-sized enterprises, "very well managed, durable, and profitable in the long term." A trend that is not reproduced in Spain, where there is "much more polarization between SMEs and large companies".