In the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI), Belgian startup Ravical is emerging as a promising force in transforming professional services. By automating up to 80% of repetitive and operational work within firms, Ravical is reimagining how expertise is delivered in sectors like tax, legal, accounting, and insurance. Its innovative use of AI agents—autonomous virtual assistants trained to perform specialized tasks—is helping human professionals shift their focus from routine work to high-impact, strategic, and client-facing responsibilities.
The Vision Behind Ravical
Ravical was founded in early 2025 by Joris Van Der Gucht, Ken Bastiaensen, and Benjamin Vandermarliere, three entrepreneurs with a strong track record in technology and professional services. Van Der Gucht is best known for co-founding Silverfin, a cloud-based accounting automation platform that was acquired in 2023 for €320 million. With Ravical, the founding team is taking automation a step further—this time applying the power of agentic AI to deeply transform workflows across entire organizations.
Rather than simply digitizing processes or introducing general-purpose AI tools, Ravical focuses on domain-specific agents—virtual entities that understand industry jargon, regulations, and workflows. These agents are tailored for professional experts, aiming to support rather than replace human roles.
The company’s core philosophy is rooted in augmentation over automation. By empowering experts to offload routine tasks—such as retrieving documents, running compliance checks, or preparing standard reports—Ravical’s technology enhances their capacity to think critically, strategize, and advise clients with greater insight.
How Ravical’s AI Agents Work
Unlike traditional automation tools that follow strict rule-based logic, Ravical’s AI agents function as intelligent assistants capable of working across complex systems. They ingest structured and unstructured data from internal sources, perform real-time analyses, and surface contextual insights that professionals can act upon.
Importantly, Ravical’s AI agents do not operate in a “black box.” All their outputs are traceable, explainable, and auditable—crucial for industries where compliance, accuracy, and accountability are non-negotiable. The agents suggest actions but leave the final decisions to human experts, ensuring that firms retain control and oversight.
Integration is also a key strength. Ravical’s agents are designed to plug into existing tech stacks and workflows with minimal disruption. They can operate within familiar environments such as CRM systems, document management platforms, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools. This interoperability significantly lowers the barrier to adoption.
Whether it’s assisting a tax advisor in scanning thousands of pages of regulatory text or helping an insurance analyst cross-check policy details against internal databases, Ravical’s AI agents are built to deliver speed, consistency, and precision.
Recent Developments and Funding
In May 2025, Ravical achieved a major milestone by closing a €7.3 million pre-seed funding round led by Lakestar, a renowned venture capital firm known for backing category-defining startups like Spotify, Revolut, and Glovo. The round also attracted several strategic angels and early-stage investors.
Enrico Mellis, Partner at Lakestar, expressed strong belief in the future of agentic AI, saying, “Agent-based systems are no longer just hype—they’re becoming a strategic imperative for professional service firms looking to maintain a competitive edge.”
The newly acquired capital will be used to scale Ravical’s engineering and research teams, accelerate product development, and run additional pilot projects across Europe and North America. The company has already completed 10 successful pilots with firms ranging from boutique legal practices to multinational accounting networks.
These pilot projects validated not only the technical feasibility of Ravical’s agents but also their tangible impact on efficiency, error reduction, and client satisfaction. Feedback from early adopters indicates a significant reduction in manual effort, improved turnaround times, and heightened confidence in compliance-related tasks.
The Growing Role of AI in Professional Services
Ravical’s approach mirrors a larger industry shift. Professional services firms—long resistant to automation due to the bespoke nature of their work—are now re-evaluating their business models in light of AI’s growing potential. The pressure to increase operational efficiency, improve margins, and offer differentiated services is driving rapid digital transformation.
Where traditional automation focused on back-office functions, AI is now making inroads into core expert work. Legal firms are using AI to draft and review contracts. Tax advisors are relying on AI for real-time regulatory updates. Accountants are adopting machine learning to detect anomalies in financial statements. Ravical’s AI agents aim to orchestrate and unify these capabilities within a human-centric framework.
Nonetheless, this transition is not without challenges. Ethical concerns, data security, and change management are critical considerations. Furthermore, there is a growing need to upskill professionals to work alongside AI—interpreting its outputs, questioning its recommendations, and applying judgment in uncertain situations.