april is a company that provides an AI-powered tax filing platform that helps individuals complete and optimize their taxes directly within financial apps. Pulse 2.0 interviewed april co-founder and CEO Ben Borodach to gain a deeper understanding of the company.
Ben Borodach’s Background
Could you tell me more about your background? Borodach said:
“I started my career at Deloitte Consulting, advising top-tier banks and insurance companies on growth, M&A, and technology strategy. That’s where I first saw how much friction there was in financial services, and how much of it stemmed from legacy infrastructure. Later I joined Team8, where I focused on launching new ventures in fintech and cybersecurity, including companies like Curv and Visible Risk. That experience taught me how to build from zero and what it takes to create platforms that are both secure and scalable. Founding april was a natural next step, as it combined my experience in financial services, venture creation, and emerging tech to tackle one of the biggest pain points in personal finance: taxes.
Formation Of The Company
How did the idea for the company come together? Borodach shared:
“Taxes are one of the few remaining financial workflows that haven’t evolved alongside the apps we use every day. The insight behind april was simple: if you can embed savings, investing, and payments directly into fintech platforms, why not do the same for taxes? My co-founder and I saw an opportunity to turn tax season into a year-round, value-added experience, not just a once-a-year headache. We wanted to build an infrastructure layer that financial institutions, payroll providers, and fintechs could plug into to offer their customers intelligent, embedded tax tools.
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for the company so far? Borodach shared:
“This past tax season was a milestone moment. We went from being a new entrant to becoming the first company in over 15 years to achieve national e-file coverage. It was incredible to see our platform process hundreds of thousands of returns, embedded within over 50 partner apps. But the best part was hearing how simple and fast it felt for users; some of them told us they finished in under 25 minutes and felt more confident than ever. That’s the impact we want to scale.
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Borodach explained:
“We offer an embedded tax platform that integrates tax filing, planning, and intelligence directly into financial platforms. Our capabilities include self-service filing, pro-assisted and pro-led support, and year-round tools like refund estimators, paycheck withholding optimization, and quarterly payment calculators. Our infrastructure ingests real-time data from partner platforms to pre-fill forms and deliver personalized, accurate tax outcomes, fast. We’re also expanding into more complex scenarios like capital gains, retirement planning, and small business ownership.”
Challenges Faced
Have you faced any challenges in your sector of work recently? Borodach acknowledged:
“Building a national e-file platform from the ground up is no small task, especially in a regulated, high-stakes space like tax. We tackled that challenge by applying an AI-assisted development process and prioritizing compliance from day one. Another challenge was proving that embedded tax could scale. This year, we did just that, processing hundreds of thousands of returns and tripling the size of the business. That traction speaks to both the need and our execution.”
Evolution Of The Company’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Borodach noted:
“When we launched, we focused on self-service filing embedded into fintech apps. Since then, we’ve expanded into professional tax support, advanced planning tools, and real-time intelligence. Our tech stack now supports a unified federal and state filing flow with pre-fill capabilities, driving median time to file down to 22 minutes, compared to the IRS average of 13 hours. Our AI-driven infrastructure now enables complex, personalized tax logic to run behind the scenes of everyday financial interactions.
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Borodach cited:
“Achieving full e-file coverage was a huge milestone, only about ten companies have done that. Raising our $38M Series B and bringing our total funding to $78M was another validation of our mission. And during the 2024 tax season, we were live across 50+ partners, made tax filing accessible to millions, and processed hundreds of thousands of returns. We also launched pro-assisted filing, saw refund deposit rates of 98%, and hit an NPS over 60.”
Funding/Revenue
Are you able to discuss funding and/or revenue metrics? Borodach revealed:
“We recently closed a $38 million Series B led by QED Investors, bringing our total funding to $78 million. We’re not sharing detailed revenue metrics, but I can say we’ve tripled the size of the business this year. Our partners are seeing real ROI, from improved refund rates to deeper user engagement, which translates directly into growth for us as a platform provider.”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is the company pursuing? Borodach assessed:
“According to IBISWorld, the U.S. tax preparation services market was valued at approximately $13.9 billion in 2023, with consistent growth expected due to increased tax complexities and digital adoption. With april targeting over 150 million American taxpayers and 32 million small businesses, the potential TAM spans several billion dollars annually.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Borodach affirmed:
“Most tax tools are built for direct-to-consumer sales and treat tax as a one-time transaction. april is infrastructure, we’re embedded, intelligent, and personalized. We turn tax into a continuous, value-added layer across financial apps. Our advantage lies in our tech (AI-driven, API-first), our UX (fully white-labeled and seamless), and our positioning (we empower platforms, not compete with them). That makes us a natural partner to fintechs, payroll providers, and financial advisors.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future goals? Borodach emphasized:
“We’re focused on expanding our partner ecosystem and deepening our intelligence layer, so that every user interaction, from saving to investing, comes with a tax-optimized recommendation. We also want to scale beyond filing and into broader financial planning. Long term, our vision is to become the trusted tax operating system behind every major financial app.”
Additional Thoughts
Any other topics you would like to discuss? Borodach concluded:
“Just this: tax shouldn’t be scary. It should be a source of empowerment. With the right technology, we can help millions of people unlock better financial outcomes, by making tax work for them, not against them. That’s what we’re building at april, and we’re just getting started.”
