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Why Agentic Finance is a Core Theme of Hinterland26

The Hinterland of Things Conference has long been the definitive bridge where Germany’s industrial “Mittelstand” meets the disruptive force of the global startup ecosystem. As we gather for the 2026 Hinterland Exhibition, the atmosphere is charged with a new sense of urgency. The theme is no longer just about adopting digital tools, but about reclaiming strategic autonomy through Agentic AI.
While the exhibition halls are filled with breakthroughs in Industrial Tech, one sector is currently undergoing a total architectural rebuild: Finance.

In 2026, the finance department is no longer seen as a reactive back-office. It has become the “Mission Control” of the enterprise. However, with persistent global economic volatility and a specialized labor shortage that hasn’t let up, traditional software is no longer enough. We have moved past simple automation into the era of Agentic Finance – where AI systems don’t just “process,” but reason, collaborate, and act.

At this year’s exhibition, three standout startups – Flowzar, Circula, and turian – are demonstrating how AI agents are transforming the financial landscape for European enterprises.

Why Agentic Finance is a Dominant Theme of 2026

Agentic AI has changed the game. Unlike the bots of the early 2020s, these AI agents possess true “agency.” They understand business context, navigate unstructured data (like complex email threads), and make proactive recommendations. In a 2026 economy where liquidity is the ultimate competitive advantage, having a “thinking” financial system is a survival requirement.

As Andreas Habersetzer, CEO & Co-Founder of Flowzar, notes:
“In finance, it’s not just about efficiency; it’s about liquidity, risk, and trust. That’s exactly why classic automation is no longer enough – today, finance needs context-aware, thinking systems.”

Flowzar: The "Digital Treasury Employee" Comes of Age

A major highlight at this year’s exhibition is Flowzar. Since its founding in Munich in early 2025, Flowzar has rapidly moved from a “promising newcomer” to a critical partner for mid-sized treasury departments. Treasury management remains the most complex frontier of corporate finance. For many companies, it is a high-stakes balancing act of forecasting cash flow across multiple entities and managing fluctuating interest rates.

Flowzar’s flagship AI agent, “Flow,” is designed to work like a proactive team member rather than a software tool.

  • Autonomous Intelligence: Flow doesn’t wait for manual data uploads. It integrates with ERPs and bank accounts to gather real-time data, even pulling information from unstructured sources like payment notifications in an inbox.
  • Strategic Liquidity Planning: By analyzing patterns in real-time, Flow provides cash forecasts with a precision that manual Excel sheets could never achieve. It identifies “hidden” risks – like a supplier’s credit rating drop or a delayed major receivable – well before they impact the bottom line.
  • Empowering the CFO: Habersetzer explains the vision: “Treasury should lead strategically but is often shackled by operations. This was the biggest gap in finance organizations, and Flow is here to close it.”

By 2026, Flowzar has proven that Agentic Finance allows CFOs to move from “firefighting” to “strategic steering,” turning the treasury into a profit-driving engine.

Circula: Seamless Spend Management for the Modern Workforce

While Flowzar manages the macro-level of liquidity, Circula has perfected the micro-level of corporate spend. Based in Berlin, Circula is now a veteran leader in the European “Spend Management” space. Over the past few years, they have expanded their reach significantly beyond their early 150,000-user milestone, serving iconic brands like About You, DATEV, and the Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL).

In 2026, the “receipt chase” is a relic of the past. For finance teams, the nightmare used to be chasing missing tax information or verifying GoBD compliance. Circula has automated this entire lifecycle.

Circula’s success lies in its deep integration into the complex European regulatory landscape:

  • Expense & Travel Management: Using advanced OCR, employees scan receipts in seconds. In 2026, the AI doesn’t just “read” the receipt; it cross-references it with travel policies and tax laws automatically.
  • Smart Corporate Cards: By issuing cards that link directly to the app, reconciliation happens the moment the card is swiped. No more end-of-the-month stress for the accounting team.
  • Employee Benefits 2.0: Circula has revolutionized how companies offer perks. From digital meal vouchers to mobility budgets, the platform ensures that these benefits are tax-optimized and easy to use.

For the Hinterland audience – many of whom are traditional companies undergoing rapid digitalization – Circula represents a massive ROI: a 40% reduction in monthly closing times and a workforce that is finally free from administrative “busy work.”

turian: Bridging the "Gap" Between Inboxes and ERPs

Perhaps the most disruptive entry in the 2026 lineup is turian. Founded by the team that built one of Europe’s largest e-commerce platforms (a billion-dollar operation with 5,000 employees), turian was built to solve the “Manual Gap.”

In almost every company, vital financial and procurement data is trapped in emails. A customer asks for a quote change, or a supplier sends a bill of quantities. Normally, a human must read that email, find the data in an ERP system (like SAP), and manually update it.

turian’s AI agents act as the “connective tissue” of the enterprise. They sit directly between communication channels and the ERP:

  • Order & Quote Generation: turian agents can read an unstructured RFQ in an email, check real-time inventory levels, and draft a professional quote for a human supervisor to approve in seconds.
  • Automated Reconciliation: If a purchase order confirmation doesn’t match the original order, the turian agent flags the discrepancy and can even draft a clarification email to the supplier.
  • 90% Time Savings: By handling these high-volume, reasoning-heavy tasks, turian allows human employees to focus on high-value negotiations rather than data entry.


turian’s mission is to create “Hybrid Teams,” where humans supervise a fleet of AI agents, ensuring that even the most complex supply chain or financial workflow remains fluid and error-free.

Conclusion: The Future of the Hinterland is Agentic

The startups at the Hinterland Exhibition 2026 prove that the most impactful innovation is happening in the “plumbing” of our economy. Flowzar is giving CFOs a “Digital Treasury Employee” that never sleeps. Circula is making the “paperless office” a reality for hundreds of thousands of employees across Europe. turian is proving that Agentic AI can bridge the final gap between human communication and rigid corporate systems.

As we look at the year ahead, the message for the German Mittelstand is clear: The competitive edge in 2026 belongs to those who embrace Agentic Finance. It is no longer about “doing more with less”—it is about building a smarter, proactive, and more resilient financial future.

Visit the Hinterland Exhibition to meet Flowzar, Circula, and turian in person and see the future of Agentic Finance in action.