OpenAI Startup Fund has led a $14 million funding round for Endex, a startup that CEO and Thiel Fellow Tarun Amasa said on X has created the first AI agent for Microsoft Excel. The agent is designed to help process data, handle financial tasks, and write memos, a move described by Business Insider as potentially transformative for spreadsheet users.
"Finance professionals don't just need search results; they need structured thinking and deep analysis," Amasa told Business Insider, adding that he envisions a future where every firm can access digital teams of analysts to augment time-intensive workflows.
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Excel-Native AI for Advanced Financial Analysis
Endex says its AI agent runs on OpenAI's reasoning models, which are engineered to handle complex, domain-specific tasks rather than simple search queries.
The agent is capable of executing multi-step tasks for hours at a time, from building discounted cash flow models to creating professional presentation slides. Every output includes integrated citations, allowing analysts to trace results back to the original data, which the company said supports trust and compliance requirements.
The AI integrates directly into Excel, enabling features such as cell reference tracing, in-line navigation, automated formatting, and deep research capabilities tied to verified data sources. It also remembers user preferences, applies consistent firm-specific templates, and converts PDFs into editable tables for faster data handling.
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Use cases range from pulling company data instantly from Securities and Exchange Commission filings and broker estimates to generating charts and visualizations that align with a company's style guide. The tool's ability to unify internal files, public data, and trusted sources into one searchable environment aims to provide analysts with a complete view for decision-making.
Early testers have compared the experience to "seeing ChatGPT for the first time" and said they were able to build models significantly faster than before, with one growth equity firm vice president calling it "the creepiest thing I've ever seen" after watching the AI complete a model automatically.
OpenAI's Backing and Microsoft's Role
Microsoft has invested more than $13 billion into OpenAI since 2019, securing the right to integrate OpenAI's technology into Azure services and products like its AI assistant Copilot. While the two companies collaborate, Business Insider says OpenAI's development of enterprise products such as ChatGPT Enterprise has also placed them in competitive markets. In 2024, Microsoft's annual report named OpenAI as a competitor, hinting at growing tension between the longtime collaborators.
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Amasa told Business Insider that the work with OpenAI reflects a "shared vision for vertical-specific AI" and focuses on "building the agent-user interfaces that will change how financial analysts do work." Most of last year, Endex's team has been collaborating closely with OpenAI at its San Francisco office.
Next Steps and Market Traction
With enterprise-grade encryption, compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation, and Service Organization Control 2 certification, Endex presents its platform as a secure and scalable option for financial firms.
Endex has begun offering limited early invites to select users on X, with Amasa adding that capacity is currently limited and encouraging interested users to comment for access.
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