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Round raises $6M to scale its AI-powered finance automation platform. Round raised seed funding to scale its AI-powered finance automation platform, alongside the launch of new tools designed to streamline financial operations and reduce manual workloads. London-based Round, an AI-powered finance automation platform, has raised $6 million in seed funding to accelerate the development of its financial infrastructure and expand its product offering. The round was led by Alstin Capital, with participation from Backed VC and Love Ventures. Around 10 per cent of Round's existing customers joined the round, alongside angel investors including Paul Forster, founder of Indeed. Existing investors, such as Passion Capital and early backers of Monzo, Tide, and GoCardless, also took part. Alongside the funding, Round announced the launch of two new products: Agentic Workflow Builder and Autonomous Payroll, both designed to streamline financial operations and reduce manual workload. Despite significant investment in finance software, many finance teams continue to operate across fragmented systems, manually managing tasks such as invoice approvals, payment execution, and payroll funding. Round addresses this challenge by combining intelligence with financial infrastructure to automate these workflows. Its platform integrates with existing banks and accounting systems, enabling finance teams to define rules for approvals, payment schedules, and cash management, while the system executes these processes automatically and synchronises data with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. Pac O'Shea, co-founder of Round, said the company is not aiming to replace finance leaders with an AI-driven CFO but instead focuses on automating the repetitive operational tasks that finance teams typically handle manually. We are building for the finance team of the future, one that understands the importance of automation to keep up with the pace of modern companies. AI tools are rapidly being deployed across the industry, and finance teams do not need to be left behind, The newly launched Agentic Workflow Builder enables finance teams to describe workflows in natural language, which the platform converts into automated processes running continuously in the background. Meanwhile, Autonomous Payroll streamlines the entire payroll cycle, from importing payslips and routing approvals to funding and executing payments, eliminating the need to manage multiple systems manually. The new funding will be used to accelerate product development, expand the company's engineering and go-to-market teams, deepen integrations with banks and financial systems, and scale its infrastructure. Round also plans to support community-led growth initiatives, including finance-focused hackathons, workshops, and webinars aimed at helping organisations adopt automated financial workflows.

Monzo exits U.S. Market to double down on Europe growth. * 1 day ago U.K.-based digital bank Monzo has announced it will shut down its U.S. operations and close customer accounts, marking a significant strategic pivot toward Europe. The decision will impact approximately 50 employees and halt new customer onboarding in the United States, while existing users will retain access to their accounts until June 2026. According to statements shared with customers and reported by Banking Dive and Bloomberg, Monzo's move follows its successful acquisition of a full European banking license in December through the European Central Bank and the Central Bank of Ireland. The fintech cited this milestone as a key driver behind its renewed geographic focus. "With a fast-growing customer base of 15 million in the U.K. and the growth opportunity our European banking licence creates, we're making a deliberate, strategic decision to focus on scaling in our home market and Europe," the company said. The decision stands in contrast to several fintech peers - including Revolut, Nubank, and Bunq - which are actively pursuing U.S. banking licenses amid what appears to be a more favorable regulatory environment. Monzo itself had previously attempted to enter the U.S. market, applying for a banking charter in 2020 before withdrawing its application after 17 months due to low approval prospects. Despite renewed efforts, including appointing a U.S. CEO in 2023, the company has now opted to exit the market entirely. Monzo emphasized that customer funds remain safe and FDIC-insured, and that it will provide guidance for account closures, fund transfers, and access to statements. The move also comes amid leadership changes. Former CEO TS Anil stepped down in late 2025, with Diana Layfield - formerly of Google and Standard Chartered - taking the helm. Strategic disagreements over IPO timing and listing location reportedly played a role in the leadership transition. Financially, Monzo remains strong. The neobank surpassed $1 billion in revenue in 2024 and reported a £60.4 million profit for the year ending March 2025 (Reuters). The company is now accelerating hiring in Ireland, planning to grow its local team to 70 employees over the next 18 months. Monzo joins a growing list of fintechs, including Germany's N26, that have scaled back U.S. ambitions, highlighting the continued complexity and competitiveness of entering the American banking market.