Midship

What do they actually do

Midship provides a web app and a native Excel add-in that executes SOX control tests, links each test result to its source evidence, and produces auditor-ready workpapers that can be exported to Excel or uploaded into common audit platforms midship.ai/sox midship.ai.

Teams upload sample data (CSV, no integrations required), define the test procedure, and Midship’s agent runs the test across samples—validating evidence, linking each result to its source, and generating reviewer-friendly explanations. The output is a complete, traceable workpaper package that reviewers (internal or external) can open in Excel or import into audit tools; there’s also an optional Excel add-in for auditors who prefer to work natively in Excel midship.ai/sox midship.ai. Midship says internal audit and SOX teams at public companies use the product, and YC notes multiple public companies have onboarded and report large time savings Y Combinator — Midship.

For deployment and security, Midship states it is SOC 2 Type II compliant and supports customer choice over data storage (Midship’s cloud or bring‑your‑own storage) with configurable retention policies midship.ai/security. They offer a short trial designed to run three tests on a customer’s historical SOX cycle data and validate results quickly (advertised as “validate on your data in under 1 hour” and 2‑week trials) midship.ai.

Who are their target customer(s)

• SOX/Compliance Manager at a public company: Spends excessive time collecting evidence, reconciling samples, and packaging results; needs a repeatable way to produce complete, traceable workpapers that auditors can review without rework midship.ai/sox midship.ai.
• Internal audit or SOX testing staff: Daily testing is repetitive and error‑prone; validating samples and linking each result to source evidence takes most hours each cycle. They need faster testing and clearer provenance for every sample midship.ai/sox.
• Finance leader (Controller/Head of Finance): Faces seasonal resourcing spikes and pays for costly co‑sourcing. Wants to lower external audit fees and internal overtime by reducing manual testing midship.ai Y Combinator — Midship.
• External auditors and audit partners: Review is slowed by inconsistent formats and incomplete traceability. They need workpapers that clearly link each test result to source documents and open cleanly in Excel or audit platforms midship.ai.
• IT/GRC or security lead (data governance owner): Must control storage location and retention for sensitive financial evidence and vet vendor security. Needs SOC 2 and options for customer‑controlled storage and retention policies midship.ai/security.

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Run hands‑on pilots with SOX managers using the lightweight trial (CSV uploads, no integrations) to validate on customer data and produce auditor‑ready workpapers quickly; secure testimonials and a workpaper case study from each pilot midship.ai/sox midship.ai Y Combinator — Midship.
• First 50: Scale pilots via audit firms and co‑sourcing partners who use Midship on engagements, then convert those accounts; emphasize exportability to Excel/audit platforms and the Excel add‑in to minimize reviewer friction, supported by quantified ROI case studies midship.ai midship.ai/sox Y Combinator — Midship.
• First 100: Reduce onboarding friction with integrations and automated evidence ingestion (a stated roadmap focus) and pursue channels with ERP/GRC and audit‑platform partners; add scalable demand gen (webinars, conferences, SDRs, referrals) Y Combinator — Midship.

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

Midship targets public companies running SOX/ICFR; there are roughly 44,000 listed companies worldwide (about 4,000 in the U.S.), and the audit/audit‑management software market is about $1.9B in 2025 OECD World Bank Business Research Company.

Bottom-up calculation:

An initial, practical customer pool is U.S. listed firms (~4,000), with emphasis on accelerated and large‑accelerated filers that run more substantial SOX programs World Bank AuditBoard. If Midship captured only a few percent of the ~$1.9B audit‑software market, that would equate to tens of millions in ARR Business Research Company.

Assumptions:

• Not every listed company will buy SOX automation; focus is on accelerated/large‑accelerated filers and mid‑to‑large caps SEC/AuditBoard.
• Revenue potential depends on converting portions of manual SOX labor and co‑sourcing fees into software spend GAO.
• Adoption is easier when exportability to Excel/audit platforms avoids process change for auditors midship.ai.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• AuditBoard: End‑to‑end SOX and audit‑management platform used as a controls hub and collaboration system; overlaps on testing and workpapers but focuses on program management and dashboards rather than an agent that executes tests and links each sample to source automatically AuditBoard Midship.
• Workiva: Unified reporting and controls platform connecting financial data, control documentation, and testing (with ERP integrations); overlaps on SOX workflows but emphasizes connected reporting over AI agents that perform sample‑level test procedures and annotations Workiva.
• Diligent (HighBond): Enterprise GRC suite with audit, controls analytics, and continuous monitoring; competes on automated data testing but is positioned as a broader analytics/controls platform rather than a lightweight, Excel‑native test executor producing auditor‑ready workpapers Diligent HighBond.
• TeamMate (Wolters Kluwer): Traditional internal‑audit/workpapers system with test libraries and analytics; overlaps on workpaper management but is not an autonomous agent tying every sample to source evidence TeamMate+ Audit.
• Suralink: Request‑list and evidence collection tool used for PBC workflows and workpaper prep; overlaps with Midship’s planned evidence‑gathering automation but is primarily a document‑collection and collaboration platform, not an AI test engine Suralink.