Tailor Secures $22M Series A for Headless ERP Innovation
▼ Summary
– Tailor, an ERP platform, raised $22 million in Series A funding from investors including ANRI, JIC VGI, NEA, Spiral Capital, and Y Combinator.
– Tailor’s “headless” ERP system, Omakase, separates the front and back ends, enabling customization and AI agent integration via API for task automation.
– The company targets retail and e-commerce but is expanding to B2B sectors due to increasing demand for flexible, modular ERP solutions.
– Tailor differentiates itself from competitors like SAP and Oracle by offering a highly customizable, API-first platform that adapts to diverse business needs.
– The startup plans to use the funding for U.S. expansion, product development (including AI capabilities), and scaling operations in Japan.
Tailor, a cutting-edge headless ERP platform, has successfully secured $22 million in Series A funding to revolutionize how businesses manage their operations. The round was led by prominent investors including ANRI, JIC Venture Growth Investments, NEA, Spiral Capital, and Y Combinator, signaling strong confidence in the company’s innovative approach to enterprise resource planning.
Unlike traditional ERP systems that bundle front-end and back-end functionalities into a single rigid framework, Tailor’s Omakase platform adopts a modular, API-first architecture. This design separates the user interface from core ERP functions like inventory management and accounting, giving businesses the freedom to customize their front-end experience while maintaining robust backend operations. Yo Shibata, co-founder and CEO, emphasizes that this flexibility is critical as AI-driven automation reshapes business workflows, enabling seamless integration with AI agents to handle tasks like customer data analysis and process automation.
The ERP market is dominated by legacy players like SAP and Oracle, alongside vertical SaaS solutions such as Crater and Stitch. However, Shibata believes Tailor’s headless ERP model provides a competitive edge by allowing companies to tailor their systems precisely to their needs. “The future of ERP isn’t monolithic, it’s modular, programmable, and built for collaboration between humans and AI,” he explains.
Initially focused on retail and e-commerce, Tailor’s platform helps businesses navigate complex challenges like supply chain volatility and omnichannel management. But demand is rapidly expanding into B2B sectors, where operational complexity, such as managing future orders and customized product lines, requires even greater adaptability.
Founded in 2021 by Shibata, a former McKinsey consultant, and CTO Misato Takahashi, Tailor has grown from a 10-person team to nearly 50 employees across Japan, the U.S., and other regions. The fresh funding will fuel three strategic priorities: U.S. market expansion, product enhancements (particularly AI capabilities), and scaling operations in Japan, where the company already enjoys strong traction.
Shibata envisions Tailor as a Shopify-like solution for ERP, offering both out-of-the-box functionality and the flexibility for businesses to build custom interfaces. “Our goal isn’t to enforce a rigid system but to empower companies with a platform that evolves with their unique workflows,” he says. With this latest investment, Tailor is poised to redefine enterprise operations in an increasingly automated and dynamic business landscape.
(Source: TechCrunch)
