Italian AI startup Rulen (formerly LexSA) has raised €1.8 million in its first funding round to further develop its AI-powered platform for the tax and accounting sector and support its commercial expansion. The round was led by VC Partners, with participation from Growth Engine, AME Ventures, Zest through its Magic Mind vehicle, Alpha Venture and a group of industry business angels.
Launched at the end of 2025, Rulen develops an AI operating platform designed to automate tax and accounting workflows, helping professionals reduce repetitive tasks and manage compliance processes more efficiently.
The platform integrates with existing software and third-party systems, including the Italian Revenue Agency's online taxpayer records (Cassetto Fiscale), allowing firms to automate processes from data collection to review and document production while maintaining professional oversight.
The company aims to address challenges facing the Italian tax and accounting sector, including a shortage of younger professionals and growing compliance workloads. New registrations in the profession have declined by 27.3 per cent, while professionals under 40 account for just 15 per cent of the sector. At the same time, many firms continue to rely on manual processes and fragmented software systems, increasing the need for automation tools that can support business growth without a proportional increase in staffing.
Rulen's platform is already used by law and tax firms, specialist practices, groups consolidating professional firms and multinational companies.
The funding announcement coincides with the company's rebranding from LexSA to Rulen, reflecting its transition from an AI research assistant to a platform capable of executing end-to-end workflows.
Simone Hong, co-founder and CEO of Rulen, explained that the company was created in response to challenges experienced directly by its founders, particularly the difficulty of recruiting junior professionals and the time spent on repetitive administrative work. He added:
Our goal is to make AI adoption simple, concrete and scalable. With this round and the move to Rulen, we want to accelerate our transformation from assistant to agentic platform, capable of automating end-to-end workflows without professionals losing control and verifiability.
Claudio Cama, co-founder and CTO of Rulen, highlighted the company's plans to expand automation across additional activities by integrating new systems and developing AI agents capable of handling execution tasks independently, allowing professionals to focus on higher-value decisions.
With the new funding, Rulen plans to accelerate product development and commercial growth while expanding its team, particularly in sales, marketing and product roles, including the recruitment of additional tax specialists.