Non-public markets buyers handle a roughly $15T international asset class, but the workflows powering most deal choices nonetheless depend upon guide spreadsheet reconciliation, fragmented knowledge rooms, and institutional information that walks out the door each time a senior analyst strikes on. The result’s a structural inefficiency the place corporations able to deploying billions in capital spend the vast majority of their analytical bandwidth on knowledge extraction moderately than judgment – and the place the price of a gradual or missed underwriting resolution compounds throughout each deal cycle. Into this hole steps F2, an AI-native platform that embeds straight into the deal workflows of personal credit score funds, industrial banks, and personal fairness groups, turning a agency’s amassed deal historical past right into a persistent, queryable information asset that improves with each transaction. The platform combines an Excel-native monetary evaluation engine with agentic workflow automation throughout screening, underwriting, and portfolio monitoring, attaining 95.25% accuracy on SpreadsheetBench – the business commonplace benchmark for spreadsheet AI – and is already deployed throughout 100+ funds and banks globally. Not like horizontal AI instruments that approximate monetary evaluation, F2 runs an actual Excel engine beneath the AI, preserving cell dependencies, method logic, and full knowledge lineage so each quantity in an IC memo traces again to its authentic supply.
AlleyWatch sat down with F2 Founder and CEO Don Muir to study extra concerning the enterprise, its future plans, and up to date $14M seed spherical that brings complete funding to $24M.
Who had been your buyers and the way a lot did you elevate?
F2 raised $24M in complete fairness capital, together with a $14M seed spherical. The seed spherical was led by HighlandX, with participation from Left Lane Capital, NFX, Y Combinator, and Torch Capital.
Inform us concerning the services or products that F2 presents.
F2 is a compounding intelligence platform for personal markets buyers. It delivers end-to-end agentic workflow automation throughout:
- Screening
- Underwriting
- Portfolio monitoring
The platform transforms a agency’s deal historical past right into a persistent, queryable information asset and evaluates new alternatives utilizing full contextual knowledge (precedent offers, knowledge rooms, market knowledge). The platform is powered by an Excel-native monetary evaluation engine and contains instruments like Adam (AI deal affiliate), Deal Intelligence, and Institutional Information.
What impressed the beginning of F2?
F2 was based to unravel the wants of Arc’s lender clients as they reviewed and underwrote debt offers on the Arc capital markets platform.The system was initially an inside agentic underwriting software, developed to handle operational ache factors firsthand. After proving efficient, Don Muir introduced it as a standalone industrial alternative, resulting in the creation of F2 with backing from prior buyers.
As well as, non-public markets are at an inflection level, the place corporations embedding AI into sourcing, underwriting, and monitoring can construct a structural aggressive benefit over time.
How is F2 completely different?
F2 differentiates itself by: doing the next:
- Embedding straight into deal workflows utilized by funding groups.
- Delivering personalized deployments for every enterprise.
- Utilizing a multi-model, LLM-agnostic structure (Opus, ChatGPT, Gemini, and proprietary instruments).
- Attaining as much as 60% higher efficiency vs. generic brokers and 5x token effectivity.
- Offering enterprise-grade knowledge privateness (zero-day retention, no coaching on shopper knowledge).
What market does F2 goal and the way large is it?
F2 targets:
- Non-public credit score funds
- Industrial banks
- Extra broadly, non-public markets buyers
The corporate operates throughout the international non-public markets ecosystem, a roughly $15 trillion asset class, the place a lot of the funding course of stays guide and under-digitized. F2 is already deployed throughout 100+ funds and banks globally.
What’s your enterprise mannequin?
F2 is an enterprise AI platform for personal markets buyers (non-public credit score, PE, industrial banking), offering workflow automation throughout the deal lifecycle. F2 sells an enterprise SaaS platform that helps funding groups transfer quicker, standardize decision-making, and enhance outcomes throughout the deal lifecycle.
- It offers end-to-end workflow automation throughout key funding processes – screening, underwriting, and portfolio monitoring.
- The platform embeds straight into corporations’ current deal workflows, moderately than sitting as a standalone software.
- It converts uncooked deal supplies and historic transactions into structured evaluation and a persistent “institutional information” layer, which compounds worth over time.
How are you making ready for a possible financial slowdown?
F2 clients want expertise no matter market route.
When capital markets had been scorching, the pace to underwrite and time to time period sheet had been vital levers to win offers in a aggressive market. F2 permits our shoppers to maneuver quicker. After they inevitably decelerate – danger mitigation, and proactive danger monitoring grow to be key. In that case, F2 helps establish danger quicker and extra successfully.
What was the funding course of like?
F2 had early backing from about 50 buyers tied to Arc. It has then continued to lift capital, together with a latest fundraise tied to sturdy market demand for vertical AI in finance.
Funding has been largely pushed by our credibility and direct product-market match inside non-public credit score workflows.
What are the largest challenges that you just confronted whereas elevating capital?
The largest problem is shifting investor thesis on the applying layer within the period of AI.
Will frontier labs win, or will vertical AI software program? It has grow to be more and more clear all through our course of that the market believes that in complexly regulated areas like finance and healthcare, the place “final mile” accuracy issues, “ok” generic horizontal LLMs aren’t sufficient. It has grow to be apparent that professional vertical options, like F2, are then vital.
What elements about your enterprise led your buyers to write down the verify?
Craig Driscoll, who led the funding for HighlandX mentioned, “Non-public markets are at an inflection level. The corporations that construct AI into the core of how they supply, underwrite, and monitor will compound a bonus that turns into structural over time.” What units F2 aside is its skill to embed straight into deal workflows and match naturally into how critical funding groups function.”
F2 has been in a position to exhibit actual traction and a transparent path to sustainable progress. On this atmosphere, there’s a better premium on capital effectivity and powerful unit economics, and we constructed the enterprise with that self-discipline from the beginning. Mixed with a differentiated product and a targeted crew, that gave buyers confidence in each our near-term execution and long-term upside.
What are the milestones you propose to realize within the subsequent six months?
Within the subsequent few months we hope to chive the next:
- Scaling deployments throughout credit score funds and banks.
- Increasing the product suite.
- Rising our engineering and enterprise groups globally.
What recommendation are you able to provide corporations in New York that wouldn’t have a contemporary injection of capital within the financial institution?
The foundations of the sport have modified within the final 12 months, and the bar on progress and income have elevated as new AI native corporations have proven that it’s attainable to construct large corporations a lot quicker. Progress and scale aren’t the one metrics although: sturdiness and defensibility is important. Which means proving excessive utilization, sticky clients, and deep workflow. Tomorrow’s corporations aren’t simply constructing merchandise, they’re delivering product augmented service. Which means aligning and tailoring product to your finish buyer not simply giving them a turnkey answer.
The place do you see the corporate going now over the close to time period?
Within the close to time period, F2 is concentrated on scaling adoption throughout main lenders globally, whereas persevering with to deepen its place inside non-public credit score and broader non-public markets. The corporate goals to grow to be core infrastructure for funding groups, embedding AI straight into how corporations supply, underwrite, and handle offers. On the similar time, F2 will proceed increasing its platform capabilities and enterprise footprint, reinforcing its function in shaping the following technology of credit score and funding workflows.
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