Campfire Raises $35M to Rebuild ERP from Ground Up

Campfire is a San Francisco-based startup that is rebuilding enterprise resource planning from the ground up, placing AI at the center of its platform. Just nine months after launching, the company has secured $35 million in Series A funding led by Accel. This early investment reflects both the scale of the ERP problem and Campfire’s rapid traction in the market.

ERP platforms are systems that help businesses manage core operations such as finance, accounting, procurement, and supply chain activities. Although these systems are essential, many were built decades ago and now frustrate modern teams with their lack of flexibility, intelligence, and user-friendly design.

Campfire is addressing these challenges with an AI-first architecture that reimagines how businesses interact with financial systems. The new funding will support continued product development, deeper AI integration, and global expansion as the company positions itself to support customers from startup through to IPO.

A Company Built from Customer Frustration

Campfire’s origin story is familiar to anyone who has struggled with traditional ERP systems. Founder, CEO, and CTO John Glasgow started the company based on his own experience with legacy platforms.

“I founded Campfire because, as a customer, I lived through the pain of a legacy ERP that was holding us back,” Glasgow explained.

Rather than trying to improve existing systems, Campfire’s team chose to build a new solution from scratch. The platform uses modern architecture and AI to help finance teams speed up month-end close processes, gain deeper financial insights, and make better decisions.

By taking this ground-up approach, Campfire was able to integrate AI directly into the core of the system. It is not an added feature. It is a foundational part of the product. This sets Campfire apart from legacy systems that try to add AI features onto outdated infrastructure.

Ember AI: A New Way to Interact with Financial Data

Campfire offers a complete ERP system that includes tools for managing the general ledger, automating revenue processes, and overseeing financial close cycles. However, the standout feature is Ember AI. This is a generative AI conversational interface that allows finance teams to interact with their data in new and more intuitive ways.

With Ember AI, users can ask it to run reports, analyze data, and automate tasks. There is no need to navigate complex menus or learn specialized commands. The system is designed to be accessible and efficient.

Beyond simple queries, Ember AI can automate repetitive tasks, identify patterns in financial data, and provide proactive insights. This allows finance teams to focus more on strategy and less on manual work. The deep integration of AI puts Campfire at the leading edge of a broader shift toward AI-native business software.

Investor Confidence in the Vision

Accel’s $35 million investment is a strong signal of confidence in Campfire’s vision and potential. John Locke, a partner at Accel and now a Campfire board director, shared his belief in the company’s ability to lead a new wave of innovation.

“Accel believes Campfire has the potential to reshape the ERP market. Campfire’s rapid product execution, customer traction, and vision for an agentic future make them uniquely poised to lead this next wave of innovation,” Locke said.

This kind of early-stage investment typically indicates that a company has already achieved strong product-market fit and growth. Campfire appears to be scaling quickly, supported by clear demand from businesses looking for modern ERP solutions.

For more on why Accel invested in Campfire, watch this Bloomberg Tech interview with Accel Partner Christine Esserman:

Christine Esserman speaks with Bloomberg’s Caroline Hyde and Ed Ludlow about the strategy behind the $35 million Series A funding.

Strong Market Timing

Campfire is entering the market at a time when enterprise interest in generative AI is rising. According to PYMNTS Intelligence’s "CAIO Report," the number of chief financial officers reporting a "very positive" return on investment from AI tripled between March and December 2024. By the end of the year, 88% of CFOs surveyed reported strong results from their AI initiatives.

**Alt Text:** Bar chart showing the reported return on investment (ROI) from generative AI by executives (CFOs, CMOs, COOs) from March to December 2024. It highlights a significant rise in CFOs reporting “very positive” ROI, increasing from 26.7% in March to 87.9% in December. The chart breaks down ROI into three categories: negligible, somewhat positive, and very positive, across different months and executive roles. — Figure: Executives’ Reported ROI from GenAI (PYMNTS Intelligence, 2025). The share of CFOs reporting “very positive” ROI more than tripled from March to December 2024, rising from 26.7% to 87.9%. Source: The CAIO Report

This shift in sentiment provides a favorable opportunity for platforms like Campfire that are built entirely around AI. Finance leaders who have seen the value of AI in isolated tools may now be ready to apply it across their core systems.

The ERP market itself is massive. Legacy vendors have built billion-dollar businesses despite the fact that their platforms are often difficult to use. Campfire has the opportunity to win market share by offering a system that is not only powerful but also user-friendly and intelligent.

Competitive Differentiation

Campfire’s decision to build an AI-native ERP platform provides a clear competitive edge. Legacy providers are trying to retrofit AI into old systems, which often leads to limited functionality and clunky interfaces. Campfire, by contrast, has embedded AI into its system from the start. This allows for a seamless and more sophisticated user experience.

The company’s focus on supporting customers throughout their growth journey, from startup to IPO, also helps it stand out. Most ERP providers focus on either small businesses or large enterprises. Campfire is designed to scale with its users.

There is growing investor and customer interest in AI-driven ERP solutions. Companies such as Tailor are attracting funding for specialized platforms, and legacy vendors like Springbrook Software are trying to evolve. However, Campfire’s clean-slate design and deep AI integration give it a strategic advantage over both new and old competitors.

Looking Ahead

Campfire has moved quickly from its founding to a major funding round. This shows the market’s appetite for ERP systems that do more than replicate old workflows with new branding. Businesses are looking for true transformation, and Campfire is offering just that.

As adoption of AI in finance grows, Campfire is well positioned to become a leading name in enterprise software. Its success may serve as a model for a new generation of applications where AI is not a feature, but the foundation.