Tracelight, a UK-based AI firm, has secured $3.6 million in seed funding led by Chalfen Ventures, with notable angel investors participating. The company streamlines financial modelling by integrating large language models (LLMs) with Excel, automating tasks such as formula writing, model validation, and natural language analysis.
Analysts at major financial institutions report saving over 90% of time on routine modelling work. Tracelight supports analysts rather than replacing them, allowing for improved decision-making.
Founded in 2024 by Peter Fuller, Aleksander Misztal, and Janek Zimoch, Tracelight is available as an Excel add-in and plans to use its new funding to expand its product and reach across global finance professionals.
KEY QUOTES:
“Complex financial models underpin all of the corporate world’s most important decisions. Until now, LLMs have barely touched this workflow. Tracelight is purpose-built for this; it works seamlessly inside the tools analysts already trust. Our aim is to take away the entire mechanical workload of financial modelling. Our users act as directors and orchestrators of AI that is quickly becoming superhuman at the task of Excel analysis.”
Peter Fuller, co-founder and CEO of Tracelight
“The financial models used by investors, consultants, bankers and corporate finance professionals are large, logically complex, and formatted according to strict rules. Our technology unlocks the full reasoning power of frontier LLMs on these files; for the first time, Excel financial modellers will be able to tap into the power of frontier AI models directly in their existing workflow.”
Aleksander Misztal, co-founder and CTO of Tracelight
“The most magical AI tools work at the highest level of abstraction, making them radically easy to adopt, while understanding and executing complex work under the hood. Tracelight does that. It has taken the world’s most widely used modelling platform and embedded AI where it can have immediate impact. And its rapid adoption by analysts in demanding modelling environments shows just how big the opportunity is.”
Mike Chalfen, Solo VC at Chalfen Ventures
“Excel—now 40 years old—still holds the bulk of the world’s business logic. What excites me about Tracelight is how naturally it brings advanced AI into the financial modelling workflows professionals already know and trust. It’s the first solution that extends the power of Excel modelling without requiring professionals to abandon the tools they know best.”
Hank Vigil, Founder at Acequia Capital
