Gradient Labs, a startup developing AI agents for the financial services sector and founded by former Monzo team members, has successfully raised $13 million.
The Series A funding round was led by Redpoint Ventures, with participation from Exceptional Capital, Liquid 2, LocalGlobe, and Puzzle Ventures.
Co-founded by Dimitri Masin, who previously led the data team at Monzo, the firm also includes chief scientist Danai Antoniou and Neal Lathia, who contributed to Monzo’s machine-learning infrastructure.
In November, Gradient Labs launched Otto, its first AI agent designed to handle complex customer queries. This chatbot can identify vulnerable customers, address complaints, and avoid issues like providing unauthorized financial advice.
Clients currently using the service include Plum, Zego, Lendable, Yonder, Nala, Sling, and the “first live autonomous AI customer support for a large regulated bank.” The company reports that clients achieve 40-60% auto-resolution rates within days, with no custom integrations required.
“Our AI agent consistently outperforms even the best human agents in terms of Customer Satisfaction (CSAT),” Masin stated. “In each deployment, our AI not only matches the performance of existing customer service teams but often exceeds it.”
The funding will be utilized to enhance the training of AI agents in complex decision-making for areas like money laundering investigations, technical troubleshooting, and compliance scenarios, as well as to facilitate expansion into the US market.