Simpson Thacher handles Boost.ai sale

Simpson Thacher Bartlett is advising Nordic Capital on its agreed sale of Boost.ai, a Norwegian enterprise conversational and voice artificial intelligence company specialising in regulated industries, to Automation Anywhere.

The transaction, announced on 7 October, is expected to complete in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions. The financial terms have not been disclosed.

Founded in Norway in 2016, Boost.ai develops technology that enables businesses to automate customer and employee interactions across voice, chat and digital channels. Its platform is designed to support organisations operating in highly regulated sectors, including financial services, where data protection, compliance and the accurate handling of complex interactions are critical.

Nordic Capital invested in Boost.ai in 2021 through its Nordic Capital Evolution strategy, supporting the company’s international expansion, technology development and growth in customer relationships. During its ownership, Boost.ai has expanded beyond the Nordic region into Europe and North America while strengthening its customer success and strategic partnership capabilities.

The acquisition will bring Boost.ai’s conversational and voice AI technology together with Automation Anywhere’s enterprise automation and orchestration platform. The combination is intended to connect customer interactions with the business processes needed to resolve requests across front-office, middle-office and back-office operations.

Automation Anywhere provides automation technology to enterprises internationally and has been expanding its AI capabilities. The addition of Boost.ai is expected to strengthen its offering in customer-facing conversational AI, particularly for businesses operating in complex and regulated environments.

Boost.ai chief executive Jerry Haywood said the company’s expertise in regulated industries had demonstrated that conversational and voice AI could operate at enterprise scale while meeting the reliability, compliance and governance requirements of those sectors.

He added that Nordic Capital had been an important partner in scaling the business and expanding internationally, and that joining Automation Anywhere would enable the company to connect conversations directly with the systems and people needed to complete customer requests.

The Simpson Thacher team advising Nordic Capital includes James R. Howe, Christopher Vallance, Rachael Short, Andrew Cho, Julia Conzen and George Hazell on corporate matters, alongside Caleb McConnell and Amena Charles on tax matters.

Santander acted as exclusive financial adviser to Boost.ai in connection with the transaction.