OpenAI backs Endex, a new AI agent for Excel that aims to transform how finance professionals work with data

OpenAI has led a $14 million funding round for Endex, a startup developing an AI agent designed to work directly within Microsoft Excel. The tool aims to help users manage complex spreadsheets, analyze financial data, and generate reports with minimal manual effort. Endex is powered by OpenAI’s reasoning models, enabling it to perform structured analysis and deep thinking tasks beyond simple data retrieval. Tarun Amasa, the 21-year-old CEO of Endex and a former Thiel Fellow, said the company’s mission is to bring digital analyst teams to every organization, automating time-consuming workflows. In a video posted on X, Amasa demonstrated the AI agent’s capabilities, showing how it can interpret user prompts, manipulate data, and draft memos within Excel. A brief screen glitch during the demo replaced the Excel logo with “Endex,” highlighting the tool’s integration into the familiar spreadsheet environment. Amasa revealed that his team spent much of the past year working out of OpenAI’s San Francisco office, underscoring the close collaboration between the two companies. He also offered early access to users who comment on the announcement posts. While Microsoft and OpenAI have long been strategic partners—Microsoft has invested over $13 billion in OpenAI since 2019 and uses its technology in products like Copilot and Azure OpenAI services—the relationship has grown more complex. OpenAI has launched its own enterprise and developer products, including ChatGPT Enterprise, creating direct competition with Microsoft’s offerings. In its 2024 annual report, Microsoft began listing OpenAI as a competitor. Despite this, Amasa emphasized that the Endex collaboration reflects a shared vision for specialized AI agents tailored to specific industries. He described the work as going beyond simple API integrations, focusing instead on building intuitive agent-user interfaces that transform how professionals, especially financial analysts, approach their daily tasks. Microsoft and OpenAI have not yet commented on how this new tool might affect the future of Excel or their broader partnership.