On 4 November 2025, the Derby-based startup Vigilant AI.ai announced a £585k pre-seed funding round led by Haatch, together with the East Midlands Combined County Authority and the British Business Bank.

The company’s mission is clear: help regulated organisations adopt generative AI while staying fully compliant. It is a timely message in sectors where governance concerns often block innovation.

Closing the compliance gap

Vigilant AI.ai focuses on what it calls “AI Teammates,” generative AI systems that embed into workflows with built-in guardrails, immutable audit logs, and transparent governance tools. For industries such as financial services, where every AI-assisted output must be explainable, this model offers a path to use AI responsibly.

Their value proposition is centred on trust. Instead of replacing human decision-making with opaque models, the company integrates AI into existing processes and ensures every action is traceable.

How the new capital will be used

The £585k pre-seed funding will help expand the team, enhance product development, and move from pilot projects to revenue-generating deployments. Vigilant AI.ai plans to strengthen engineering and go-to-market efforts, refine its platform’s usability, and secure enterprise-grade certifications.

For an early-stage player in a highly regulated space, this type of pre-seed investment signals investor belief in compliance-first AI infrastructure, not just AI buzz.

Why it matters for fintech and reg tech

In regulated industries, the main barrier to AI adoption is not technology but trust. Vigilant AI.ai’s model reflects a growing trend where compliance, traceability, and auditability are built into the core product.

This approach is pragmatic. Many firms talk about AI transformation, but few can show how it fits within oversight frameworks. Vigilant AI.ai aims to be part of the infrastructure that makes safe, compliant AI deployment possible.

Key takeaways for fintech startups

Here are a few lessons founders can take from Vigilant AI.ai’s story:

• Treat compliance as a product feature, not a limitation.
  
  
• Build transparency and auditability into workflows from the start.
  
  
• Work with investors who understand regulatory complexity.
  
  
• Focus on measurable pilot results instead of broad AI promises.
  
  
• Map the route from pilot to revenue early, since traction builds credibility.

If your fintech or reg tech startup is balancing innovation with compliance, contact Your Fintech Story. We help founders design strategies that earn trust and scale responsibly.