Ravical, an AI platform that accounting and tax firms use to run their operations, has closed a $17m seed round aimed at helping practices expand without adding staff at the same rate.

MMC Ventures led the investment. Existing backers Lakestar and Pitchdrive also took part, and Shapers joined as a new investor. Ravical plans to use the capital to deepen its presence in the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, extend its European roll-out, and launch in the US.

The raise comes as the traditional economics of accounting come under strain. Firms have historically expanded by recruiting more professionals and charging for their expertise. Client demand for accounting and advisory services continues to climb, but the pipeline of new graduates is shrinking and seasoned practitioners are increasingly scarce.

Meanwhile, AI can now handle many tasks that once required human input, and specialist knowledge has become easy for clients and rivals to access. According to Ravical’s own research, 70% of UK SMEs now follow AI-generated advice without checking with their accountant first.

Ravical argues that a firm’s real differentiator is the judgement, advisory skill and delivery approach of its strongest people. In most practices, however, that know-how stays with individual employees and benefits only the clients they personally handle.

Ravical’s platform captures the working methods of a firm’s top performers and turns them into a shared approach that AI applies across the entire client base. More than 100 accounting firms across Europe already build on the platform. The company was founded by CEO Joris Van Der Gucht, CTO Ken Bastiaensen and CPO Benjamin Vandermarliere.

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