Seattle-area AI startup Wokelo, founded in 2022 by former management consultants Siddhant Masson and Saswat Nanda, has raised $4 million in a seed round to support the development and growth of its technology. Wokelo’s AI technology generates detailed due diligence reports for corporate acquisitions, investments, and strategic decisions. The company has 13 employees and more than 35 customers, including private equity and venture capital firms, corporate development teams, investment banks, and management consulting firms.
Wokelo’s platform takes in data from various sources such as news, call transcripts, financial filings, research journals, and product reviews, feeding it into a proprietary cognitive engine. The platform then generates analyses including company overviews, product insights, feature comparisons, recent news analysis, and industry landscapes with citations. It also creates sector reports, competitive analysis, and offers a secure data room for file uploads. Additionally, there is a PowerPoint generator and a Q&A chat function available for further research.
The company’s focus on private markets has allowed Wokelo to carve out a niche for itself, providing deep insights that would otherwise require extensive manual research. However, there are other companies offering AI solutions for due diligence and research, such as Ansaranda, Thomson Reuters, AlphaSense, and PitchBook. Wokelo’s seed round included investments from Array Ventures, Geek Ventures, KPMG Ventures, Rebellion Ventures, Ahead VC, and Perpetual Venture Capital, with a minority equity investment from KPMG LLP’s venture arm.
KPMG noted in a news release about its investment in Wokelo that 42% of dealmakers are using generative AI in the dealmaking process. This investment demonstrates KPMG’s commitment to utilizing cutting-edge technologies to drive value for its clients. Wokelo plans to use the seed funding for product development, expanding its capabilities and use cases, as well as building out its sales and support teams to better serve its customers. The company has grown based on inbound interest without marketing and is close to profitability, with total funding to date reaching $5.5 million.
The company’s co-founders, Masson and Nanda, are optimistic about Wokelo’s future and are motivated by the support from investors like KPMG. The name “Wokelo” was derived from the phrase “hello future of work,” reflecting the company’s focus on leveraging AI technology to streamline due diligence processes and provide valuable insights for its customers. With a strong customer base and continued growth, Wokelo is positioning itself as a leader in AI-driven due diligence reports for high-stakes corporate decisions.
