Welcome to Tech News Break Fing. It's Thursday, January 16th. I'm Bell Lynn for The Wall Street Journal.

The latest big investment for venture capital is accounting firms. Our reporter Mark Maurer tells us how they're shaking up a quiet corner of the business world,

and what artificial intelligence has to do with it.

And then, what does the future hold for tech like AI, electric vehicles, and robotics?

It might actually be possible to get better answers.

We'll find out why that starts with simply

asking better questions. But first, venture capitalists are known for making big bets on

risky moonshot technologies. But now, some venture investors are getting excited about accounting firms.

Bessemer Venture Partners, General Catalyst, and Thrive Capital are among the venture

outfits taking stakes in accounting firms on the heels of a series of deals led by private equity.

So what do these VCs think is the payoff? Our reporter, Mark Maurer, is here to tell us.

So, Mark, why are these venture capital firms suddenly interested in investing in accounting firms?

There are at least two key reasons. One is that venture capital firms have been watching this wave of private equity investors

pour into the space. In 2021, private equity firms started taking stakes in mid-sized accounting firms,

and that pace of acquisitions has only been picking up. It's becoming increasingly crowded space.

Revenue is soared at many of these firms in that period of time. Another key reason is that

venture capital has a little bit of a different take here. Some VCs see generative AI technology

as being able to really enhance a traditional service business and make it more

profitable. Accounting, as we know, has a lot of repetitive tasks. It relies heavily on

sort of knowledge type work. And so this is an opportunity in their eyes for these firms to

become more scalable. Private equity investors have also

started exiting from these firms. And so VCs might see them as attractive targets after

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