Benford, a tech-native financial audit firm founded by Palantir and Goldman Sachs alumni, has raised a €5m pre-seed round backed by GFC and Firstminute Capital. The London-based startup aims to offer a cheaper, faster alternative to the Big Four — Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC — by automating audit workflows through its proprietary AI platform. Co-founders Tom Blomfield and Charles Rolfe, previously at Palantir and Goldman Sachs respectively, argue that traditional audits are outdated, manual, and overpriced. "We're building the first truly digital audit engine," said Blomfield. "The Big Four rely on armies of juniors checking spreadsheets; we replace that with software that understands financial data natively." Investors include General Catalyst, Firstminute, and angel investors from Stripe, Revolut, and Monzo.

Benford is currently running pilot audits with UK mid-market companies and plans to seek regulatory approval from the FRC. The firm targets €100m+ revenue businesses underserved by top-tier auditors but too complex for smaller practices.