Berlin's Taktile raises $4.7 million via Index Ventures, Y Combinator, and others

Developing solutions aimed at accelerating the adoption of machine learning technology in the financial industry, Berlin-based Taktile has raised $4.7 million in a seed funding round led by Index Ventures. The funding is expected to continue further development of the product.

There’s no mistaking the fact that artificial intelligence and/or machine learning is here to stay, and slowly but surely making its way into just about every facet of our daily lives. For better or for worse.

While not the swiftest on the uptake, and perhaps for good reason, the financial industry has started to employ ML technology, leading off with credit underwriting. Recognising previously unseen indicators of creditworthiness, ML recommendations are providing financial institutions with the opportunity to underwrite more profitable loans. Likewise, relying on a vast amount of existing data, machine learning technology is able to accurately predict borrowers’ repayment behaviours, thus opening up completely new customer segments.

One of the most highly regulated industries in the world, the financial sector faces a myriad of challenges when implementing new practices, particularly when they involve non-linear modeling techniques. By providing field-tested, off the shelf, as well as fully-customised ML solutions, Taktile is helping financial services customers deliver ML applications in a compliant, transparent and collaborative manner.

“I have experienced machine learning generate significant business value for companies through better decision-making, but traditionally there has been a lot of hesitancy in moving forward. Some of it is cultural and some of it is technical. By bringing together a team with deep business and technical expertise, we believe that our platform can assist enterprises to finally realize the power of ML,” explains CEO and co-founder Maik Taro Wehmeyer.

In addition to Index Ventures lead, Taktile's seed round also saw participation from Y Combinator, firstminute Capital, Plug and Play Ventures, and the founders of 8 unicorns including UiPath, Datadog, and Github.