Key Takeaways
- • AI startup Ravical raised £12.75m in a seed round led by European venture capital firm MMC, with participation from Lakestar, Pitchdrive and Shapers, according to City AM.
- • Ravical reports total funding of $25m (£18.7m) in its first year and more than 100 European accounting firms using its platform.
- • The company targets mid-tier accountancy firms and private equity-backed consolidators, pitching software that decouples revenue growth from headcount.
- • Ravical plans to deepen its presence in the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, continue rollout across Europe and enter the US market.
- • MMC Ventures general partner Mina Samaan argues accounting has not yet had its 'Harvey or Legora moment', pointing to the need for firm-level rather than single-task AI tools.
Summary
AI startup Ravical, which serves accounting and tax firms, has raised £12.75m in its latest seed round, according to City AM. The round was led by European venture capital firm MMC, with Lakestar, Pitchdrive and Shapers also participating. City AM reports that total funding now stands at $25m (£18.7m) following the company's first year of operations.
Ravical says more than 100 European accounting firms use its platform. The company is positioning its technology as infrastructure for the sector's current wave of private equity roll-ups. It targets mid-tier accountancy firms and private equity-backed consolidators, pitching its software as a way to break the traditional link between revenue growth and headcount. Plans include strengthening its position in the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, expanding across the rest of Europe, and entering the US market.
The funding comes amid heavy private equity activity in accountancy over the past couple of years, including acquisitions of large firms such as Grant Thornton and Evelyn Partners. Ravical co-founder and chief executive Joris Van Der Gucht, who also co-founded cloud accounting platform Silverfin, said the company positions itself as the underlying layer that integrates acquired firms, standardises processes and scales expertise across larger client bases. He added that 'every firm will use AI, so the real question is who controls it.'
Mina Samaan, general partner at MMC Ventures, said accounting 'hasn't had its Harvey or Legora moment yet', referring to billion-dollar AI companies in legal technology. He said most AI startups in the space are building point solutions for a single task or workflow. Van Der Gucht argued that legal AI tools focused on helping individual lawyers draft and research faster will not translate to accounting, which he said has already survived several waves of automation, and that the 'real value lies in the judgement and experience of a firm's best people'.
Ravical says more than 100 European accounting firms use its platform. The company is positioning its technology as infrastructure for the sector's current wave of private equity roll-ups. It targets mid-tier accountancy firms and private equity-backed consolidators, pitching its software as a way to break the traditional link between revenue growth and headcount. Plans include strengthening its position in the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, expanding across the rest of Europe, and entering the US market.
The funding comes amid heavy private equity activity in accountancy over the past couple of years, including acquisitions of large firms such as Grant Thornton and Evelyn Partners. Ravical co-founder and chief executive Joris Van Der Gucht, who also co-founded cloud accounting platform Silverfin, said the company positions itself as the underlying layer that integrates acquired firms, standardises processes and scales expertise across larger client bases. He added that 'every firm will use AI, so the real question is who controls it.'
Mina Samaan, general partner at MMC Ventures, said accounting 'hasn't had its Harvey or Legora moment yet', referring to billion-dollar AI companies in legal technology. He said most AI startups in the space are building point solutions for a single task or workflow. Van Der Gucht argued that legal AI tools focused on helping individual lawyers draft and research faster will not translate to accounting, which he said has already survived several waves of automation, and that the 'real value lies in the judgement and experience of a firm's best people'.
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