Despite the rapid integration of artificial intelligence into sectors like law and accounting-propelled by billion-dollar startups such as Harvey-the global consulting industry, valued at approximately $250 billion, has largely remained entrenched in traditional, manual processes. A London-based startup, founded by ex-McKinsey consultants, is wagering $2 million on revolutionizing this resistant market by automating one of its most tedious tasks: Excel spreadsheet analysis.
Recently, the company secured $2 million in seed funding led by a Berlin-based venture capital firm formerly known as Cavalry Ventures. This round also attracted investments from prominent angel investors, including Alan Chang, CEO of Fuse and former chief revenue officer at Revolut, and Fredrik Hjelm, CEO of the European e-scooter company Voi.
While this funding is modest compared to the hundreds of millions often raised in enterprise AI, the startup’s founders believe their targeted solution addressing a specific, persistent pain point could give them a competitive advantage in a market where broad AI applications have struggled to gain traction.
Why Consultants Still Spend Hours on Manual Survey Data Analysis
The startup’s CEO, who previously worked at McKinsey and its AI and advanced analytics division, intimately understands the grueling hours consultants invest in processing survey data-an essential component of private equity due diligence. This data, often collected from customers, suppliers, and market participants, is typically analyzed manually in Excel.
“During my time on McKinsey’s private equity team, I noticed that despite the availability of advanced tools, consultants still relied heavily on Excel for survey data analysis,” the CEO explained. “Surprisingly, even top-tier firms use workflows that are not much different from smaller boutiques. I expected smarter solutions to be in place, but that wasn’t the case.”
This realization inspired the creation of a platform that automates the transformation of raw survey data into well-structured Excel workbooks, complete with traceable formulas-tasks that junior consultants traditionally spend hours performing.
Consulting’s Unique Challenges Slow AI Adoption Compared to Legal Tech
While AI has made significant inroads in legal services, consulting remains a tougher nut to crack. The question arises: why hasn’t AI investment in consulting matched the surge seen in legal technology?
The CEO candidly noted, “Many startups have tried to enter this space. Consulting partners receive multiple AI pitches weekly, yet adoption remains slow.”
The hurdles are both cultural and technical. Consulting firms are cautious with technology, requiring rigorous security clearances and extensive client references before piloting new software. This gatekeeping causes many startups to falter.
Technically, consulting workflows are more complex than legal ones. Unlike legal work, which primarily involves text documents that large language models handle well, consulting deals with diverse data types-PowerPoint decks, Excel sheets, Word documents-containing tabular, graphical, and textual information.
“Even within Excel, there are multiple formats and complexities,” the CEO added. “This diversity contrasts sharply with legal tech, where AI agents can perform many routine tasks. Consulting demands specialized solutions tailored to varied data forms.”
Focusing on Private Equity Survey Analysis: A Strategic Niche
The startup’s approach is deliberately narrow, concentrating solely on automating survey analysis within private equity due diligence. This segment is characterized by repetitive, standardized workflows, making it ripe for automation.
This focus also reduces competition, as even the largest consulting firms lack dedicated internal tools for this specific task. “Survey analysis automation is so specialized that no major firm has developed proprietary solutions,” the CEO remarked.
Currently, the platform is reportedly used by three of the top five global consulting firms, with early users experiencing time savings between 60% and 80% on due diligence projects. However, due to client confidentiality, the startup cannot publicly disclose these partnerships.
Ensuring Precision: Avoiding AI Hallucinations in High-Stakes Analysis
Accuracy is paramount when AI supports quantitative consulting workflows, especially in private equity, where errors can jeopardize multi-billion-dollar deals. The startup’s core challenge is delivering flawless results that consultants can trust.
“Consultants demand near-perfect accuracy,” the CEO emphasized. “Even a 95% accurate AI output isn’t sufficient; they prefer Excel because it’s reliable and transparent.”
To address this, the platform employs a hybrid model: GPT-based AI interprets incoming data, but the core analysis is executed through deterministic Python scripts that generate consistent, verifiable outputs. These results are then converted into live Excel formulas, allowing consultants to audit every calculation.
This approach aims to eliminate AI hallucinations while preserving the benefits of automation, a balance that will be tested as the platform scales to more complex scenarios.
Enterprise-Grade Security: A Competitive Advantage
Given the sensitivity of consulting data, especially in private equity, the startup prioritized obtaining rigorous security certifications early on. It holds ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certifications and is undergoing audits for emerging AI governance standards.
Client data is deleted within 30 to 45 days, depending on contracts, and is never used to train AI models. The CEO noted that survey data is somewhat less sensitive than other consulting data types, as it represents market research rather than confidential financial information.
Aligning Pricing with Consulting Budget Practices
Departing from typical subscription models, the startup charges consulting firms on a per-project basis, reflecting how these firms allocate budgets. Project budgets are distinct from central IT budgets and are often more flexible.
“This pricing model facilitates easier adoption by avoiding lengthy central procurement processes,” the CEO explained. However, it also means revenue can be unpredictable, making the conversion of project pilots into enterprise-wide contracts critical for sustainable growth.
AI’s Impact on Consulting Roles: Transformation, Not Replacement
The CEO rejects the notion that AI will eliminate consulting jobs but acknowledges that the nature of consulting work will evolve significantly.
“AI won’t make consultants obsolete,” he said. “Instead, it will shift their focus away from routine tasks like Excel and PowerPoint towards higher-value strategic work. In a few years, the consulting landscape will look very different.”
He also admitted that even AI experts are uncertain about the long-term effects on employment and productivity in the industry.
Using Seed Capital to Strengthen U.S. Market Presence
The $2 million seed round will primarily support expansion into the U.S., where over 80% of the startup’s current customers reside. The CEO plans to relocate stateside to lead go-to-market efforts, acknowledging the high cost of American talent but emphasizing the region’s importance for innovation in consulting.
Investors view this as a timely disruption in an industry that has lagged behind in adopting new technologies. “Consulting has remained stubbornly manual, but AI-powered tools like this will empower consultants rather than replace them,” said one backer.
Challenges Ahead: From Pilot Success to Enterprise Adoption
As the startup moves into 2026, its primary challenge will be converting pilot projects at elite consulting firms into long-term contracts. While its narrow focus on survey analysis offers a defensible market entry, expanding into adjacent consulting workflows will require developing new products without diluting its domain expertise.
The CTO, formerly head of machine learning at Mathison AI, acknowledged the complexity of consulting workflows and the difficulty of building scalable solutions. “It’s no surprise the industry hasn’t changed much yet, but that will shift dramatically in the next five years,” he said.
Ultimately, the startup bets that the very consultants who once spent late nights formatting spreadsheets will become the pioneers bringing AI into an industry long resistant to change. After years of advising Fortune 500 companies on digital transformation, consulting may finally be ready to embrace its own technological revolution.
