Compliance raises $20 million to help businesses manage risk and compliance

Richa Kaur says she’s a bit picky about data privacy. For example, at parties, she helps people with their cell phone privacy settings. “We’ve come to realize that the best way to actually protect consumer data is to ensure the safety of the companies that hold it around the world.”

So she started a company called Compliance to do just that. The company announced Wednesday a $20 million Series A led by GV. Compliance is an app that businesses integrate into their existing technology stack. Use AI agents to help manage governance, risk, and data compliance.

“AI essentially automates a lot of manual tasks,” Kaul says. “We use AI to custom check incoming data against our own specific criteria and risk thresholds.” AI then flags risks that need consideration.

Performing these risk reviews manually can take weeks or months. This is a standard audit-based process, perhaps once a year or once a quarter, where a team performs a check on your organization. Tools like Compliance aim to make this process more efficient by using technology to perform continuous checks in seconds, so that businesses no longer have to wonder if they are compliant with their data. We also have agents that assess the risk of third-party vendors.

“We are redefining what enterprise GRC teams spend their time on today,” she said, adding that they are typically busy with mundane tasks. GRC refers to governance, risk, and compliance.

Others on the market include Archer, ServiceNow GRC, and OneTrust. She said her company is different from incumbents because it is AI-native rather than layering AI capabilities on top.

Kaul declined to say how many customers the company has, but noted that it works with several Fortune 500 companies. Compliance has raised $28 million in funding to date. The company came out of stealth in 2023, but its first products didn’t hit the market until late 2024. Kaur called the fundraising “kind of a fairy tale” because GV actually approached her.

“They were looking for enterprise-grade, AI-driven products in areas where they had enterprise customers, and we were doing that,” Kaul said. This latest Series A round also includes participation from angel investors Speedinvest, Everywhere Ventures, Anthropic and Mastercard.

Kaul said the new funding will be used to support expanded market development. She wants to release 30 more dedicated agents in addition to the 16 that the product already has. The goal is to make GRC’s life and work much easier. After all, they didn’t sign up to accomplish mundane tasks.

“They registered to protect their business and protect their corporate customers,” she said. “By redefining some of these workflows and redefining how work gets done, we can remove those roadblocks and free up focus on strategic priorities.”