--- title: Black Ore Brings AI Tax Preparation to Small Accounting Firms, With Preparers Getting Back 8 to 15 Hours a Week description: Backed by a16z and Oak HC/FT, Black Ore launched per-return AI tax preparation for small firms at Intuit Connect, built into ProConnect Tax and Lacerte. author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief) date: 2026-10-27T13:13:40.568Z updated: 2026-10-27T13:13:40.582Z canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/will-ai-replace-tax-preparers-black-ore image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/black-ore-eyal-shinar.webp categories: Artificial Intelligence, Startups content_type: Spotlight region: Austin publication: Sovereign Magazine about: - type: Organization name: Black Ore description: Black Ore is an AI platform for financial services, headquartered in Austin, Texas. Its flagship product, Tax Autopilot, automates federal and state 1040 tax preparation for CPAs and accounting firms. The company emerged from stealth in November 2023 with $60 million in funding led by Andreessen Horowitz and Oak HC/FT. url: https://www.blackore.ai foundingDate: 2022-01-01T00:00:00.000Z industry: Artificial Intelligence sameAs: - https://www.linkedin.com/company/black-ore-ai - https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/black-ore-technologies --- Black Ore, the Austin company whose AI software prepares tax returns for accounting firms, has launched a version of its Tax Autopilot product for small and mid-sized practices, priced per return and available inside Intuit's ProConnect Tax and Lacerte. The company announced Black Ore for Small Firms on Tuesday at Intuit Connect, Intuit's conference in Las Vegas. The largest US accounting firms have run Tax Autopilot in production for the last three tax seasons, and Black Ore [ended its invitation-only pilot in April](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/black-ore-tax-autopilot-launch). Since the start of 2026 its base of small and mid-sized firm customers has grown more than fivefold, the company says, and the new version is designed so that a 20-person firm can take on more clients without adding staff. ## What AI Tax Preparation Changes for Tax Preparers Tax Autopilot takes a client's source documents in whatever format they arrive, prepares the return and hands it to the firm ready for review. Every figure on the return is linked to the document it came from, and items that need a professional's attention are flagged. A firm professional checks the return and remains the final authority on sign-off, so the preparation moves to the software while the review, the judgment calls and the signature stay with the firm's accountants. > "Our preparers are getting back 8 to 15 hours a week, and that time goes straight back to clients." > — Sean McLean, Chief Digital Officer at Elevate McLean works at Elevate, a platform that invests in and partners with independent accounting firms, giving them capital, technology and operational support while the firms keep their own names and leadership. Black Ore's case to small practices is that once software prepares the returns, the same staff can serve more clients and spend more of busy season advising them. Black Ore says small firms have felt the shortage of accountants most sharply, and that most of them cannot hire their way out of it. The number of candidates sitting the CPA exam fell to about 67,000 in 2024, from more than 100,000 in 2016, according to AICPA data compiled by CPA Trendlines. ## AI Tax Software Priced for Small Accounting Firms Until now, automation at this level was mostly available to firms with the budget and staff to deploy it, Black Ore says. The small-firm version is priced per return, with no enterprise contract and no five-figure minimum. Firms can be running in less than a day, and each one is assigned a named Black Ore specialist instead of a help center queue. "Setup was easy. I did it over a phone call," McLean said. "Black Ore for Small Firms puts powerful automation directly into the hands of smaller firms, seamlessly integrated into the software they already use," said Eyal Shinar, Black Ore's co-founder and CEO. "By making cutting-edge AI technology accessible, it levels the playing field, empowering smaller firms to compete with larger firms without the traditional disadvantages of scale and resources." Juno, a San Diego startup founded by a CPA, raised a $12 million seed round in April to sell AI tax preparation to small and mid-sized firms. ## Black Ore Inside Intuit ProConnect Tax and Lacerte Black Ore for Small Firms works natively with Intuit ProConnect Tax, Intuit's cloud-based professional tax software, and Intuit Lacerte, which Intuit pitches at firms handling complex returns. Tax Autopilot delivers completed returns directly into those systems, so a firm keeps the tax software its staff already know. Firms on ProConnect Tax get hands-on migration support from both Intuit and Black Ore. Black Ore was founded in 2022, and its investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Oak HC/FT, Khosla Ventures, General Catalyst, Founders Fund and Trust Ventures. Its customers range from fast-growing practices to many of the world's largest CPA firms, which between them file millions of returns each year. **About Black Ore** Black Ore is an AI platform for financial services, headquartered in Austin, Texas. Its flagship product, Tax Autopilot, automates federal and state 1040 tax preparation for CPAs and accounting firms. The company emerged from stealth in November 2023 with $60 million in funding led by Andreessen Horowitz and Oak HC/FT. [Website](https://www.blackore.ai) ## FAQ **Q: Will AI replace tax preparers?** Not in the way Black Ore's customers use it. Tax Autopilot prepares the return from the client's documents, and a firm professional reviews it and signs it off. Black Ore sells the small-firm version as a way for a firm to take on more clients with the staff it already has, and at Elevate, preparers are getting back 8 to 15 hours a week. **Q: Can AI prepare tax returns?** Yes. Tax Autopilot takes in source documents in any format, prepares the return and delivers it into the firm's tax software ready for review, with each figure linked to its source document and items that need attention flagged for a professional. **Q: Will CPAs become obsolete with AI?** CPAs remain the final authority on sign-off in Black Ore's workflow. With about 67,000 candidates sitting the CPA exam in 2024, down from more than 100,000 in 2016, firms are using software to cover preparation work they cannot staff. **Q: What does Black Ore for Small Firms cost?** Black Ore charges per return, with no enterprise contract and no five-figure minimum. Firms can be live in less than a day and are assigned a named Black Ore specialist.