Exclusive: Founded By 2 Brothers In Their 20s, YC-Backed Denki Raises $4.1M To Automate Financial Audits

Why It Matters

Automating audits cuts costs and risk while improving compliance, reshaping the financial‑reporting ecosystem. The round highlights growing investor confidence in AI‑driven fintech infrastructure.

Key Takeaways

• Denki raised $4.1M to automate public‑company audits.
• Founded by 20‑ and 24‑year‑old brothers with AI expertise.
• AI platform replaces Excel‑heavy, manual audit workflows.
• Fintech AI funding up 27% in 2025.
• Y Combinator leads fintech deal volume, backing Denki.

Pulse Analysis

The financial‑audit function has long relied on spreadsheets, paper trails and labor‑intensive sampling, a model that strains under today’s data volume and regulatory scrutiny. Recent enforcement actions by the PCAOB, which handed out record penalties, underscore the risk of manual errors and the cost of non‑compliance for public companies. As auditors grapple with unstructured data, AI‑driven tools promise to turn the audit workflow into a repeatable, code‑like process, delivering faster evidence collection and more rigorous control testing. This shift is reshaping the risk‑management landscape across capital markets.

Denki, founded in 2025 by brothers Felipe and David Jin Li, leverages that AI momentum to replace Excel extensions with a SaaS platform that logs audit evidence, automates control checks, and flags anomalies such as AI‑generated receipt fraud. Felipe’s Ph.D. research in explainable AI and David’s experience building financial data pipelines give the duo a rare blend of technical depth and domain insight. The company’s tiered pricing ties revenue to the number of automated controls, making it attractive to pre‑IPO and listed firms seeking to lower audit costs while expanding risk coverage.

The $4.1 million round, co‑led by Base10 Partners and Shine Capital and backed by Y Combinator and 20VC, arrives amid a 27 % jump in global fintech AI funding for 2025. Y Combinator’s involvement, highlighted by its 151 fintech deals last year, signals strong venture confidence in infrastructure‑level fintech solutions. For the audit market—a sector plagued by talent shortages and mounting oversight—Denki’s capital infusion enables rapid hiring of engineers and auditors, accelerating product rollout. If the platform scales, it could set a new efficiency baseline and inspire further AI investment across regulated financial services.