Centinel Raises €1.2M for AI Accounting Automation

Spanish-Argentinian fintech startup Centinel has successfully closed a €1.2 million pre-seed funding round, signaling a significant push to revolutionize accounting processes for large enterprises through artificial intelligence. The investment was led by prominent venture capital firms, including Boost Capital Partners, Lanai VC, and Abac Capital, alongside contributions from several notable angel investors.

Founded by a trio of experienced professionals – Tomás Clark (formerly of McKinsey), Alan Donaldson (ex-Amazon), and Tomás Piaggio (from the Google Developer Experts network) – Centinel aims to be the premier AI platform for corporate accounting, with global market ambitions. This funding positions the company to challenge established players and capture a significant share of the rapidly growing AI in finance market, which is seeing substantial investment, particularly in the US.

Centinel's innovative approach centers on a human-AI collaboration model. The platform integrates seamlessly with core business systems such as ERPs, banking platforms, and procurement systems. It then learns the specific workflows of each accounting team. AI agents are deployed to automate time-intensive tasks inherent in the financial closing process, including invoice processing, purchase order management, provision calculations, bank reconciliations, and continuous auditing.

“Our solution dramatically reduces the hours spent on month-end close, cutting down the effort by 80% to 90%,” stated Alan Donaldson. “Beyond efficiency, Centinel introduces a continuous auditing layer that significantly minimizes errors, especially crucial in high-volume, time-sensitive environments, ensuring accuracy before final closure.” This capability is particularly valuable for private equity-backed companies and unicorns that often operate under intense reporting pressures.

The market for AI-driven financial automation is expanding rapidly. Industry reports indicate that the global AI in finance market is projected to reach hundreds of billions of dollars in the coming years, driven by the need for greater efficiency, accuracy, and compliance. Centinel's focus on large enterprises, a segment often underserved by solutions tailored for smaller businesses, addresses a critical market gap. The company's early traction, with clients already in Spain and France, including unicorns and PE-backed firms, underscores the demand for its technology.

Pablo Morenes, Partner at Boost Capital Partners, commented on the investment thesis: "We recognize AI's proven ability to execute repetitive accounting tasks with high precision. Centinel elevates this capability to a critical back-office function, automating time-intensive processes and empowering accounting teams to become faster, more analytical, and focused on value-added activities." This strategic investment highlights the growing investor confidence in AI solutions that deliver tangible operational improvements and competitive advantages.

With operations already extending to subsidiaries in the United States and Latin America, Centinel is demonstrating its global reach and scalability. The company's strategic positioning within the fintech and AI SaaS sectors, combined with this substantial pre-seed funding, sets the stage for accelerated growth and potential market leadership in the automated corporate accounting space.