Article
The award-winning AI that passed the tax exam
Business insights, Innovation and development, AI
February 19, 2026

Article
The award-winning AI that passed the tax exam
Article
The award-winning AI that passed the tax exam
Business insights, Innovation and development, AI
February 19, 2026
Article
The award-winning AI that passed the tax exam

19/2/2026
min read
Business insights, Innovation and development, AI
Before the AI hype
Working in venture capital, Kirch noticed a pattern that was killing efficiency: every business decision carried a heavy tax implication.
“I noticed how challenging tax regulation can be,” Kirch says. “Everyone from private individuals to big corporations is forced into this set of compliance rules, but very few really understand all of them.”
To most, this universally disliked and notoriously complex system was a headache. To Kirch and his co-founders, Sven Peper and Steffen Kirchhoff, it was an opportunity. They launched Taxy.io in 2018, years before the current AI boom.
“We were quite early with the idea,” Kirch says. “And to be honest, that was part of the struggle. We started in a time before ChatGPT, in a German market where cloud software was viewed with scepticism. We were right about the thesis, but we were wrong about the timeline. Everything took much longer than we thought.”
Passing the exam
For the first few years, the team built their own models, but the technology wasn't quite there yet. The turning point came with the arrival of large language models (LLMs). Taxy.io didn't just ride the wave. They built a sophisticated "multi-agent" system on top of it, combining legal databases with generative and agentic AI.
They needed a way to prove that their AI wasn't just a party trick. As an experiment, they chose the ultimate benchmark: The German Tax Advisor Examination.
“It is a really challenging exam on very complex topics. People train for it for one to two years,” says Kirch. “So we have the highest respect for professionals working in tax advice.”
After years of AI research & development, Taxy.io’s AI finally passed the exam. This provided the definitive proof of quality they needed. It demonstrated that their AI could be a qualified partner for industry experts.
“Our software passed with really good grades as well,” Kirch says. “That was the moment the vision became reality. We proved we could deliver high-quality answers to professionals who have very high standards and support our users in their work. And if our users can provide advice faster and with less mistakes, also their customers benefit.”
Winning the German AI Award
That relentless focus on quality led to a major recognition this year. Taxy.io won the prestigious German AI Award 2025 in the Application category, standing alongside industry heavyweights like DeepL.
For Kirch, the award is validation that they are solving a real-world problem, not just generating hype.
“It sheds light on a topic that is foundational for the economy, but not so sexy. I mean, who really loves taxes?” he jokes. “But winning the award proves that we aren’t just a company talking about AI. We are delivering a scalable software that answers millions of questions for thousands of ambitious B2B clients.”
Scaling with Visma
In August 2025, Taxy.io joined the Visma family. For a company looking to scale, the cultural fit was immediate.
“Before, we were a company of 50 people. Now we are part of a giant with thousands of colleagues,” says Kirch. “And the best part is that these people love AI. And we get access to experts in security and infrastructure that we never had before.”
With the award in hand and Visma’s backing, Kirch is already looking at the next horizon: expanding their AI thinking beyond taxes and into other complex legal domains.
The path of credibility
For Taxy.io, the German AI Award is a signal of nationwide credibility and trust. For the team, it serves as a powerful validation that their years of hard work are being seen and appreciated.
“It gives us the confirmation that we are on the right path,” says Kirch.
That path is now widening. With the tax advisor exam behind them, the company is looking into the legal exams, aiming to apply its proven AI approach to other complex legal domains.
Reflecting on the journey, Kirch smiles and concludes, “I would never have thought taxes could be this much fun.”
About the episode
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Voice of Visma
Welcome to the Voice of Visma podcast, where we sit down with the business builders, entrepreneurs, and innovators across Visma, sharing their perspectives on how they scale companies, reshape industries, and create real customer value across markets.
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