Document analysis firm Affinda has banked $10 million in a raise that has doubled its valuation in just 18 months as it ramps up its artificial intelligence capabilities.
Affinda bootstrapped for its first decade before raising $12.9 million in 2022 at a $60m pre-money valuation. The fresh cash landed from the same investors at twice that figure: $120 million. Those backers include Toll and Skalata founder Paul Little through his family office, as well as Ellerston Capital cofounder Ashok Jacob, former MYOB boss Greg Ellis, Forza Capital chair Craig Bingham and Armitage Associates MD Mark De Ambrosis.
The new funds will be used to increase the Melbourne-headquartered company’s global headcount from 65 to 100, with a focus on roles in AI and software engineering, partnerships, sales and marketing.
Siblings Ben and Tim Toner founded Affinda was founded in 2012. Their cousin, former OpenAI board member Helen Toner, worked with them in the startup’s early days. Ben, has a PhD and Master of Science in quantum physics from CalTech, while his brother comes from investment banking at Macquarie and Lazard.
CEO Tim Toner said the funding accelerates Affinda’s ambition to revolutionise document processing globally.
“The success of this funding round reflects the value of our proprietary technology and our ability to deliver AI-driven solutions to complex business problems, across a wide range of use cases and industries,” he said.
“We are currently experiencing annual revenue growth of 150-200%. We are humbled by the popularity and success of our products and are thrilled with the productivity and efficiency gains our customers are experiencing.”
Affinda initially focused on recruitment, and counts SEEK among its clients, using the platform automatically review and extract candidate information in resumes.
The platform combines proprietary document reconstruction technology with advanced computer vision, natural language processing, and deep learning algorithms, extracting unstructured data from documents using AI.
Affinda also consists of two other companies, legaltech Draftable, which compares document versions for law firms, and Vesparum, which offers capital raising solutions for founder-led startups.
The group has teams in Asia Pacific, North America, and Europe, with more than 1,500 customers in 75 countries. Half their revenue is generated offshore.
Dr Ben Toner, the company’s chief scientist, said the pace of the transformation by AI is only going to increase.
“Affinda’s technology strikes a crucial balance, automating repetitive tasks while preserving human judgment where it matters most,” he said.
“By continuously integrating cutting-edge AI advancements, we enable our customers to confidently leverage the latest capabilities in document processing, keeping them at the forefront of efficiency and innovation.”
Meanwhile, Christine Christian has joined the board under chair Peter Halstead.
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