The Series A investment round was led by Puma Private Equity, with participation from Par Equity, Lloyds Banking Group and Nationwide, and the award highlights a year of significant achievements for Aveni, underscoring its rapid growth and innovation in the financial services sector.

The firm was recently selected to be part of the inaugural Tech Nation and Founders Forum Upscale programme to help support its growth. The Upscale programme exists to serve and support exceptional companies providing not just recognition, but a powerful network of peers, mentors, and tailored resources.

The funding will fuel the development of FinLLM, a first-of-its-kind large language model specifically designed for the financial services industry. Created in collaboration with Lloyds and Nationwide, FinLLM aims to set new standards in the responsible and transparent use of AI, addressing the specific compliance and risk needs of financial institutions.

This investment enables Aveni to build on the success of existing AI-based products, Aveni Assist and Aveni Detect for adviser productivity and quality assurance and compliance support respectively, to further establish its presence across the financial services market.

Joseph Twigg, Aveni CEO, said: “2024 marks a turning point, not just for Aveni but for the entire financial services sector as AI rapidly evolves.

“The demand for tailored AI solutions is soaring – financial institutions are recognising that off-the-shelf models simply aren’t meeting their requirements. These models need a deeper understanding of the complexities within finance, from compliance requirements to unique customer needs, and that’s exactly what we’re delivering with FinLLM.

“We’ve always been committed to being at the forefront of this AI revolution in FS, and our recent major investment round, including the backing of major UK banks and our achievement as Fintech of the Year, shows we are living up to that ambition. Watch this space, we are in full scale up mode.”

In June Aveni established a strategic partnership with intelliflo, a specialist in financial advice technology, integrating generative AI to innovate financial advice workflow and compliance with an end-to-end solution.

Aveni has also moved into its new headquarters at the Edinburgh Futures Institute, a state-of-the-art facility designed to foster collaboration and innovation in the heart of the city.