Filed Secures $17M to Simplify Tax Prep Automation
▼ Summary
– Filed, a new accounting software company, raised $17.2 million to automate tax-related grunt work using AI.
– The tax industry faces a workforce crisis with retiring CPAs and fewer students entering the field, leading to inefficiencies.
– Filed’s AI completes tax return lifecycles by reading documents, applying firm-specific strategies, and flagging scenarios needing human review.
– The company differentiates itself by focusing on tax workflows and integrating directly with existing software systems without requiring overhauls.
– CEO Leroy Kerry, who overcame early career challenges, aims to expand Filed’s team and transform the tax industry with AI infrastructure.
A new $17.2 million funding round is fueling Filed’s mission to revolutionize tax preparation through AI-powered automation. The accounting software startup aims to tackle the growing labor shortage in the tax industry by streamlining workflows and reducing manual data entry.
Leroy Kerry, Filed’s co-founder and CEO, highlights the urgent need for innovation in tax services. With many CPAs nearing retirement and fewer students entering the field, firms struggle to manage workloads efficiently. “Professionals waste nearly half their time on repetitive tasks that technology could handle,” Kerry explains. Partnering with CTO Atul Ramachandran, he built Filed to automate the entire tax return lifecycle—from document processing to data entry—while keeping human oversight intact.
Unlike competitors that focus solely on tax prep or accounting assistance, Filed’s AI integrates directly with existing software systems, eliminating the need for costly overhauls. The platform applies firm-specific tax strategies, flags anomalies for review, and reduces errors—freeing up professionals to focus on higher-value work.
Northzone led the $17.2 million investment, joined by Day One Ventures and Neo. The funding will accelerate hiring, particularly for tax engineers, as Filed expands its capabilities beyond returns. “We’re building AI infrastructure for the entire tax ecosystem,” Kerry says, envisioning improvements in client collaboration, document management, and audit readiness.
Kerry’s journey to entrepreneurship reflects resilience. Raised in South London by a single mother, he initially saw few role models in tech leadership. After working his way up from a call center job to managing startup clients, he moved to the U.S. to launch Filed. Early research involved observing tax offices still reliant on fax machines—a stark reminder of the industry’s untapped potential.
“This is tax’s AI moment,” Kerry asserts. With fresh capital and a clear roadmap, Filed is poised to redefine how firms operate in an era of shrinking talent pools and escalating compliance demands.
(Source: TechCrunch)
