An artificial intelligence startup redefining customer service in regulated industries and backed by former Monzo CEO Tom Blomfield has raised £9.6m in Series A funding.
Gradient Labs’ AI agents are focused on sectors such as FinTech. The firm says that 66% of customers today expect a response to an inquiry within minutes, while one in three will walk away from a brand after a single bad experience.
Subsequently, 87% of service agents report high levels of job-related strain. AI-powered tools are helping to ease the pressure, speeding up response times and reducing the workload; however today’s AI products only scratch the surface.
Gradient Labs eliminates repetitive tasks from the entire customer operations cycle, from frontline support to back-office processes. Utilising automation, it claims that its AI agent consistently resolves up to 90% of queries with a quality assurance pass rate of 98%, outperforming human agents and alternative chatbots while reducing costs by 75%.
The round was led by Redpoint Ventures, with participation from Localglobe, Puzzle Ventures, Liquid 2 Ventures and Exceptional Capital.
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“Having spent years scaling a top UK neobank, I understand the complex challenges regulated businesses face in balancing compliance and innovation,” said Blomfield.
“Purpose-built solutions such as Gradient Labs are critical to bridging the gap, and I’ve seen first-hand the safety and service quality improvements that leading UK FinTechs – those truly determined to deliver exceptional support – are achieving using its technology.”
Dimitri Masin, CEO of Gradient Labs, added: “For many years, financial service companies have faced a dilemma: technology has made customers more demanding – they expect immediate service at any given time – yet the sector is risk-averse and heavily regulated, which makes it difficult to implement the innovations they have grown used to when interacting with businesses in other sectors.
“With nearly a decade of experience focused on automating operations, customer support, and financial crime processes within a top UK bank, we know that the cost of mistakes in customer operations can be dire. This funding round is further proof of the sheer demand for a safe and reliable AI customer service agent for regulated industries.”
Industry comparisons, particularly to the equally demanding and regulated online casino sector, highlight the broader applicability of Gradient Labs’ solution beyond FinTech.
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