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Karbon
San Francisco, US · Founded 2014 · Delaware corporation · 444 employees on LinkedIn · 15 known investors
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Karbon provides accounting practice management software for accounting firms, offering tools for team collaboration, workflow and task automation, client management, and email. It includes an AI assistant ("Kai") that draws on a firm's data to handle tasks and answer questions.
Also known as Balanced Labs · Karbon · PracticeIQ
Founders & leadership
Karbon was founded in 2014 by Stuart McLeod, John Freeman, and Ian Vacin.
Board
Investors · 15
How we know: Blackbird Foundry's portfolio page · Not right? Tell us
How we know: Blackbird Ventures's portfolio page · Not right? Tell us
How we know: Emles Venture Partners's portfolio page · Not right? Tell us
How we know: Five Elms Capital's portfolio page · Not right? Tell us
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Reported raises · per SEC filings
Form D private placements$46.3M disclosed across 3 of 4 rounds · 2021–2023
▶$10.5MraisedSep 2023 · 9 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Dave YuanDirector
- Mary DelaneyExecutive Officer, Director
- Joe OnofrioDirector
- John FreemanExecutive Officer, Director
- Jack NewtonDirector
- Offering amount
- $10.5M
- Amount sold
- $10.5M
- First sale
- Sep 2023
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$26.9MraisedJan 2022 · 4 investors · OtherRule 506(b)
- Stuart McLeodExecutive Officer, Director
- John FreemanDirector
- Dave YuanDirector
- Joe OnofrioDirector
- Offering amount
- $27.9M
- Amount sold
- $26.9M
- First sale
- Dec 2021
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$8.9MraisedApr 2021 · 3 investors · OtherRule 506(b)
- Stuart McLeodExecutive Officer, Director
- John FreemanDirector
- Joe OnofrioDirector
- Offering amount
- $8.9M
- Amount sold
- $8.9M
- First sale
- Feb 2021
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Karbon is a practice management software company serving accounting firms. Its platform is designed specifically for accountants rather than for the small-business owners served by general ledger products such as Xero and QuickBooks, and is built to integrate with the other systems accounting practices already use. The product focuses on how firms collaborate as a team, communicate with clients, maintain visibility over work in progress, and avoid tasks slipping through the cracks.
The company was founded by Stuart McLeod, John Freeman and Ian Vacin, and operated under the working names Balanced Labs and PracticeIQ before settling on Karbon. It describes itself as building a practice management platform for the accounting profession, and states a vision of a professional services industry in which employees are happy, clients are satisfied and firm partners have peace of mind.
Founding story
Co-founder Stuart McLeod studied information technology at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne and began his career at Oracle in support and later pre-sales technical consulting. He met co-founder John Freeman while working at AusAID; after McLeod started a contractor payroll business (Contract1), Freeman proposed turning the idea into software, and the pair built Paycycle Australia beginning in 2009, working remotely between Melbourne and Canberra and bootstrapping the business. In 2011 they sold Paycycle Australia to New Zealand-based Xero, where they met future Karbon co-founder Ian Vacin. By 2014, with Xero grown past 1,000 employees, McLeod left to start a new venture. The three founders concluded that general ledger software was aimed at small business owners rather than at the accountants serving them, and that accountant-focused tools integrated poorly with other systems — the gap Karbon was created to address. The company went through the names Balanced Labs and PracticeIQ before becoming Karbon.
Business model
Karbon sells practice management software to accounting firms.
Traction
Karbon reported a team of almost 200 employees spread across five countries, and cites a customer statement attributing 40-50% year-over-year growth to use of the platform.
Latest developments
Karbon raised a $66 million Series B round in partnership with Tidemark to expand its capabilities for the accounting community.
▸Full profile — market position, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Karbon describes itself as one of the world's leading accounting practice management software companies. Its site cites a 4.8 rating on G2.com.
Karbon is positioned as software built specifically for accountants — as distinct from general ledger products aimed at small business owners — and designed to integrate with the other systems accounting firms already use, addressing team collaboration, client communication, work visibility and task follow-through.
Go-to-market
Accounting firms and their teams, including firm owners and partners.
Geography
Global team of almost 200 staff across the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
History
The founders' prior company, Paycycle Australia, was developed from 2009 and sold to Xero in 2011. McLeod departed Xero around 2014, after which Karbon was formed with Freeman and Vacin. Blackbird first invested in Karbon in 2015. The company later raised a $66 million Series B round with Tidemark to expand its offering for the accounting community, and grew to a team of almost 200 staff.
Compiled by commissioned research from 4 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Competitors · 2
by search overlap
Companies competing with Karbon for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
Timeline · 3
launches, deals, and filingsKarbon states it partnered with Tidemark to raise $66 million in its Series B round to expand its offering for the accounting community.
$66M source ↗
Blackbird lists 2015 as its year of investment in Karbon, which it categorises as an early-stage enterprise company.
Stuart McLeod and John Freeman sold their prior company, Paycycle Australia, to New Zealand-based Xero, where they met future Karbon co-founder Ian Vacin.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 4
primary sources listed
- My Karbon origin story: My journey to CEO & Co-Founder of an accounting practice management solution | Karbon Magazinekarbonhq.com · web
4 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Karbon do?
- Karbon builds practice management software for accounting firms, covering workflow, team collaboration and client communication.
- Who founded Karbon?
- Karbon was founded by Stuart McLeod, John Freeman, Ian Vacin in 2014.
- Who are Karbon's investors?
- Karbon's investors include Blackbird Foundry, Blackbird Ventures, Emles Venture Partners, Five Elms Capital, Tidemark, TIMIA Capital, Toba Capital, 2am VC and 7 more.
- How much funding has Karbon raised?
- Karbon has disclosed $46.3M raised across 3 of its 4 known rounds.
- Where is Karbon headquartered?
- Karbon is headquartered in San Francisco, US.