Rulen secures €1.8M to turn tax rules into action with AI

Italian AI startup Rulen, formerly known as LexSA, has successfully secured €1.8 million in its first funding round to advance its AI-powered platform tailored for the tax and accounting industry, as well as to bolster its global outreach. This latest funding round was spearheaded by VC Partners, with support from Growth Engine, AME Ventures, Zest through its Magic Mind vehicle, Alpha Venture, and a collection of industry business angels.

Launched towards the end of 2025, Rulen's AI operating platform is designed to automate tax and accounting processes, aiming to alleviate professionals' workload by minimizing repetitive tasks and enhancing compliance management. The platform seamlessly integrates with existing software and third-party systems, such as the Italian Revenue Agency's online taxpayer records (Cassetto Fiscale), enabling firms to automate data collection, review, and document production processes while preserving professional oversight.

The primary objectives of Rulen are to tackle issues prevalent in the Italian tax and accounting sector, such as a dwindling number of younger professionals and escalating compliance workloads. Notably, new registrations in the profession have plummeted by 27.3 percent, with professionals under 40 constituting just 15 percent of the sector.

Simultaneously, numerous firms continue to depend on manual procedures and fragmented software systems, emphasizing the necessity for automation tools that can bolster business expansion without necessitating a corresponding hike in staff.

Rulen's platform is currently utilized by law and tax firms, specialist practices, consolidating professional firms, and multinational corporations. The funding revelation aligns with the company's rebranding from LexSA to Rulen, symbolizing its evolution from an AI research assistant to a fully functional platform capable of executing comprehensive workflows.

Simone Hong, co-founder and CEO of Rulen, elucidated that the company was conceived in response to challenges directly confronted by its founders, specifically the difficulty in recruiting junior professionals and the excessive time spent on routine administrative duties. Hong further emphasized, "Our objective is to simplify, make concrete, and scale AI adoption.

With this funding round and the transition to Rulen, we aspire to expedite our metamorphosis into an agentic platform, proficient in automating end-to-end workflows without professionals relinquishing control and verifiability." Co-founder and CTO Claudio Cama highlighted the company's plans to broaden automation across additional activities by integrating new systems and developing AI agents capable of independently handling execution tasks, thereby enabling professionals to concentrate on higher-value decision-making.

With the fresh funding, Rulen intends to hasten product development and commercial growth while augmenting its team, particularly in sales, marketing, and product roles, including the hiring of additional tax specialists.