Besso, a Bern-based startup, secured €4.29 million in funding from a single anonymous European family office. CEO Philip Sieber-Gasser stated that the company opted for a sole long-term investor to maintain focus on growth and customer demand rather than meeting standard funding milestones.
The company provides an AI-powered platform that monitors over 1,250 trade regulations and tariff schedules. It aims to help multinational corporations identify overpaid duties and utilize preferential tariff rates. According to Besso, importers currently miss out on such rates for approximately 30% of eligible shipments, leading to annual losses between $2 million and $15 million.
Besso’s technology replaces manual processes involving spreadsheets and PDFs. The platform currently serves major global clients, including Danone, Unilever, AB-InBev, BASF, Coca-Cola, Heineken, Philip Morris International, and Syngenta. The company also reports that additional Fortune 500 firms have recently joined its user base.
The startup plans to allocate the new capital toward expanding its headcount, increasing service capacity, and further developing its R&D and product offerings. The company is supported by academic partners like ETH Zurich and the World Trade Institute, with an advisory board that includes former Swiss Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jean-Daniel Gerber.
Market projections from NMSC suggest the AI trade compliance sector could reach €9.84 billion by 2035, growing at a CAGR of 21.07%. Besso intends to leverage this demand as global supply chains face increasing regulatory complexity, with over 7,000 changes occurring weekly across major trade corridors.
