YC-Backed Denki Raises $4.1M Seed to Automate Financial Audits with AI, Led by Base10 and Shine Capital

San Francisco-based Denki has secured $4.1 million in seed funding to revolutionize financial audits using AI-powered automation.

Founded in 2025 by brothers Felipe Jin Li (24, CEO) and David Jin Li (20), the two-person startup is part of Y Combinator's Fall 2025 cohort.

From Hackathon Wins to Audit Disruption

The brothers, raised in Spain and the U.K., built their expertise by winning hackathons hosted by Meta, OpenAI, and VC programs before targeting financial compliance challenges.

Denki's software enables auditors at public companies to review evidence faster, document work more effectively, and test process controls with greater rigor.

By shifting from manual, Excel-heavy processes to code-like automation, Denki reduces costs and enhances regulatory compliance for pre-IPO and traded firms.

Prestigious Investor Support

The round was co-led by Base10 Partners and Shine Capital, with additional backing from YC, 20VC, and others.

Previously, after declining a $135,000 pre-seed offer, they accepted a modest angel check from a former DeepMind researcher for initial runway.

CEO Felipe Jin Li highlighted the need to abandon Excel dominance and address rising threats like AI-generated fraud via watermark detection.

Fintech Surge and Audit Evolution

This raise aligns with fintech's growth, as global VC funding reached $52.9 billion in 2025, up 27% year-over-year.

YC dominated fintech deals with 151 investments, amid escalating audit penalties totaling $17.7 million from oversight bodies.

Denki will use the funds to hire engineers and auditors, scaling its tiered SaaS model amid labor shortages in high-stakes auditing.