In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, the effective management of IT assets is becoming increasingly crucial for businesses of all sizes. Korean startup Sherpas, an innovative company founded in 2023, leverages artificial intelligence to streamline the management of Software as a Service (SaaS) and IT devices. Spearheaded by CEO Jihun Lee, Sherpas has quickly made a name for itself with its cutting-edge platform, SMPLY, and has already attracted significant investment from KB Investment and Bon Angels.

As companies scale, they often face substantial challenges in managing their IT assets efficiently. This is particularly true for businesses with over 50 employees, where the proliferation of SaaS applications and IT devices can lead to a lack of visibility, unused licenses, and uncontrolled spending. Many organizations find themselves dedicating over 10 hours per month to managing these assets, resulting in both financial and productivity losses.

Innovative Solutions with SMPLY

Sherpas’s platform, SMPLY, addresses these issues head-on. This AI-driven IT, asset management service, provides a comprehensive solution that tracks SaaS payments, monitors account activities and suggests optimal pricing plans. The platform’s key features include:

• Comprehensive Tracking: Offering visibility into all SaaS spending and usage at a glance.
• Optimization Recommendations: Providing better SaaS solutions and pricing plans based on detailed usage analysis.
• Employee-Specific Management: Enabling the monitoring of individual employee SaaS usage and easy cancellation of unused subscriptions.
• Collaboration with SaaS Providers: Partnering with SaaS providers, initially in Korea, to deliver additional benefits.

In just eight months since its launch, Sherpas’s SMPLY has secured over 120 customers. Sherpas’ innovative solution has uncovered 30% more SaaS usage than initially expected, highlighting the platform’s ability to provide valuable insights into software utilization. Additionally, Sherpas has successfully reduced SaaS spending for its clients by over 10%, showcasing its effectiveness in cost optimization. 

The platform now manages more than 1,000 SaaS applications, reflecting its scalability and comprehensive capabilities. Moreover, Sherpas has enabled customers to save 70% of the time previously spent on managing SaaS, significantly improving operational efficiency for businesses.

Sherpas is targeting companies with high SaaS usage and significant IT asset management needs, particularly those with fluctuating company sizes. In Korea, the focus is on companies with a higher demand for SaaS. SMPLY wants to expand in Singapore, where the target includes tech-based and remote environment companies with over 300 employees.

The strength of Sherpas lies in its team, which boasts a mix of early-stage startup experience and global unicorn backgrounds. Leading the team is Jihun Lee, the CEO, who brings extensive experience in B2B sales. Co-founder and CPO Paul Jeong contributes his expertise in early startup environments and global expansion. The engineering team comprises skilled professionals with experience in both small team dynamics and large corporate settings, including significant time at Samsung Electronics. Together, this formidable team equips Sherpas with the knowledge and capability to drive growth and innovation in the IT asset management space.

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