SavvyWise Raises $600,000 Seed Round Just Seven Months After Founding

Australian AI tax research platform SavvyWise has completed an over-subscribed seed round of more than $600,000 at a $10 million valuation — all within seven months of incorporating.

Founded in July 2025 by Drew Pflaum, a CPA and former director of Perth accounting firm Munro’s, and AI developer Agastya Patel, SavvyWise has built what it describes as a purpose-built AI tax research platform for Australian accountants. Since launching in November 2025, the platform has attracted sign-up interest from more than 1,500 accountants and 500 accounting firms.

What makes the raise notable is that it wasn’t born of necessity. After a successful launch campaign in November and December 2025, the founders say they were in a position to continue growing without external capital. The decision to raise came from a desire to bring family, friends, employees, and customers along for the ride.

The catalyst, according to Pflaum and Patel, was an unsolicited upgrade from one of their accounting firm clients — moving from the ‘Small Team’ tier to ‘The Best’ tier — which they described as “an early Xmas present.” The day after receiving it, they began raising a deliberately modest round of $250,000 to $500,000.

Within days, they had commitments exceeding the minimum target. Within weeks, the round was over-subscribed, closing at more than $600,000.

What the money is being used for

The capital is being deployed across three areas: marketing to reach accountants who haven’t yet heard of the platform; building an exclusive library of tax knowledge authored by specialist tax lawyers; and enhancing and improving the platform’s technology and security.

Pflaum says new features are already being tested internally, with a rollout to users expected in the coming weeks.

“We have a massive couple of months ahead of us,” Pflaum said. “We look forward to all the new accountants that join the journey and, in the not-too-distant future, giving more accountants and the general public the opportunity to become an investor in SavvyWise too.”

Pflaum also acknowledged the role of Venture UWA — the University of Western Australia’s startup incubator programme — in the company’s early growth, calling its impact “profoundly positive.”