AI start-ups Ignition, Haast secure $24.5m for ad hoc billing, green wash prevention plans

A professional services platform built by a self-described ‘recovering accountant’ and a platform whose mission is to curb greenwashing have locked in funding.

Aura Ventures founder and partner Eric Chan, Haast co-founders Jason Watling, Kunal Vankadara and Liam King, and Aura Ventures investment associate Annie Liao.

A professional services platform built by a self-described “recovering accountant” has secured $23.2m in venture debt while a new platform aiming to curb greenwashing has raised $1.2m.

Ignition, founded by former chartered accountant Guy Pearson, came away with $US15m from CIBC Innovation Banking, which, he said, would allow the firm to capitalise on opportunities at its own pace over the year ahead.

“I wouldn’t call it an insurance policy but I’m sure everyone has seen how much start-ups are struggling to raise capital,” he said.

“This allows for us to be the masters of our own domains to head towards profitability, and once again, have the ability to dip in to accelerate growth.”

The latest funding comes after the company recently released an new instant billing feature which allows companies to bill for ad hoc tasks.

Ignition co-founder Guy Pearson.

Ignition was founded in 2013 and exists as a platform which allows accountants and bookkeepers to connect and support clients in the cloud with billing and payment collection and automation of work. It connects platforms such as Xero, Gusto and Zapier to automate workflows.

The platform has proved popular, having now worked with about 6,500 firms globally. Since it was founded, the platform has helped facilitate more than one million client engagements and $4.1bn client payments. The company has grown from about 100 staff in 2019 to 180, most of whom work across its main offices in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. The company also has about 50 staff in Canada.

CIBC Innovation Banking executive director Caroline Tkatschow described Ignition as a “stand out player in the market”.

“The fundraise not only serves as a testament to the company’s current achievements but also as a catalyst for its future success,” she said.

A customer's dashboard within the Ignition platform.

Meanwhile, a Canberra-based start-up which uses AI to analyse a company’s digital presence for compliance has raised $1.2m in pre-seed funding.

Haast, which was founded by three former ANU students, Jason Watling, Kunal Vankadara and Liam King, raised the capital in an oversubscribed round led by Aura Ventures.

The round also received participation from Black Sheep Capital, Campus Plus founder Nick McNaughton and other angel investors.

Haast aims to ensure complete compliance across all digital verticals by leveraging an AI-engine which can scan and detect issues across, text, video and imagery. Co-founder Jason Watling said the boom in digital marketing in recent years had made compliance difficult for most companies.

“The explosion of digital content, driven by generative AI and high-speed growth marketing, has made ensuring compliance across all channels increasingly challenging,” he said.

Mr Vankadara said his platform allowed organisations to take a “proactive approach to monitoring all their digital assets for sustainability and ethical practices claims”, all of which would be supported by regulatory guidance.

Aura Ventures Investment associate Annie Liao said her early-stage venture capital fund believed Haast helped solve a major issue that was “front of mind for large and complex enterprises”.

Haast co-founders Jason Watling, Liam King and Kunal Vankadara.

“Haast tackles the problem from a unique angle, allowing the efficiency gains in tasks which previously couldn‘t be automated with traditional AI methods,” she said.

“We have high conviction in the thesis behind Haast, having diligenced hundreds of AI companies, they stood at to us as a start-up solving a real pain point and with an AI flywheel for regulatory rules books which will accelerate with time.”

The funding follows Haast receiving $30,000 from an ICON grant program.