This edition of Local Radar highlights three startups betting that AI can reinvent some of the most entrenched categories in software and local commerce. From Doss rethinking ERP and inventory management, to Legora reshaping legal workflows, to Zest reimagining restaurant discovery, the common thread is software designed for an AI-native world rather than retrofitted for one.

1. Doss

Being the central nervous system of any business – connecting product, accounting, and other key functions – ERP systems are primed for all the AI disruption that’s been taking over the world. Startups jumping on this wave include a few we’ve profiled in past installments of this Local Radar series, including Rillet. Each looks to disrupt the traditional ERP industry and its legacy players like NetSuite. It’s all about nimbler and form-fitted ERP systems for smaller companies, versus traditional off-the-shelf cookie-cutter software. Doss is the latest startup to make this case. With $55 million in recent Series B funding from Madrona, Intuit Ventures, and others, the company’s hallmark is an AI-native inventory management function that plugs into a range of accounting systems. That’s a fancy way of saying that it’s built natively for integrations with popular AI engines like Claude, rather than having to rely on retrofitting and MCP layers. It has also decided to focus narrowly on some of the areas where Rillet and other ERP startups have left gaps, such as procurement and inventory management. That way, it won’t have to compete for market share with these competitors, but rather work alongside them and treat them as sales channels. Doss is also focused on the mid-market, with early customers like Verve Coffee Roasters. Doss will use the recent funding to expand its technology, team, and marketing efforts.

2. Legora

The legal AI space continues to heat up. Led by Harvey and other repeat visitors to this Local Radar series, it’s all about automating the many rote workflows and legacy practices of law firms. These are not only things that can be automated – think: paralegal work – but they involve high stakes, given legal billable rates and law-firm margins. The more they can automate, the bigger those margins can be, making this a rapid area of AI adoption over the past 24 months. The latest entrant is Legora, a startup that’s the first legal AI investment from Nvidia’s new NVentures corporate VC fund. Along with Atlassian’s corporate investment arm and a few financial investors, Legora was recently on the receiving end of a $550 million Series D round with a $5.6 billion post-money valuation. So what makes Legora so attractive? Like Harvey and others, the Swedish legal tech startup helps streamline legal workflows. It specifically differentiates with its legal domain expertise and the intelligent application of foundation models to the nuances of the legal profession. It shows so far as the company recently hit the vaunted $100 million ARR mark and claims 1000+ paying law firms and in-house legal teams. It will use the fresh cash to penetrate deeper into the U.S. market. Its traction so far has been weighted towards Europe.

3. Zest

There’s a new entrant in the crowded restaurant search & discovery segment. Zest wants to reinvent how people find a place to dine using a combination of your past dining transaction data and AI recommendations. From those inputs, it plans to make intelligent and personalized suggestions. It will also create personalized restaurant maps for each user, which others can follow. Mixing elements of Venmo’s social transaction sharing and Snap Map, this automated approach addresses a traditional hurdle in local search and discovery apps – the cold start problem. Traditionally requiring user-generated content and some social amplification, it takes a while to attract a critical mass of both, while competing a classic chicken & egg challenge (just ask Yelp in 2004). Zest’s AI-driven approach is hoped to blast past those traditional barriers while matching or exceeding the quality and relevance of its recommendations. That will have to be seen in practice, but the company has meanwhile gained some traction and notable capital and confidence – such as a $1.8 million pre-seed fund from Alexis Ohanian and Steve Jang. And it has demonstrated strong demand signals, including 100,000 visits post-launch. We’ll be watching closely to see if these theoretical benefits can elevate Zest to compete with established names in the very crowded restaurant discovery space.

Header image credit: Clay Banks on Unsplash