Formalize, a Danish startup specializing in supporting companies in the management of compliance-related operations, announces that it has closed a €15 million Series A round and opened its Italian office in Milan. The stringent regulatory requirements imposed by the EU on public institutions and companies have made the day-to-day task of compliance a complex and time-consuming task, diverting attention from other priorities and limiting companies in the development of their business so Formalize, formerly known as Whistleblower Software, offers the platform for compliance operations to help companies and organizations manage and simplify the activity of Compliance. The announcement of the new platform and the start of operations in Italy coincides with the closing of the €15 million Series A funding round led by Blackfin Tech, the venture arm of French BlackFin Capital Partners, an independent private equity and venture capital firm focused on investments in financial services and compliance technologies, with over €3.5 billion in assets under management. Founded by Magnus Boye, Kristoffer Abell and Jakob Lilholm in 2021 in Aarhus, Denmark, under the name Whistleblower Software which later changed to Formalize from 2024, it has developed and launched a Whistleblowing platform (Whistleblower Software by Formalize), which allows employees of an entity or company or third parties, for example a supplier or customer, to report in a confidential and protected manner any wrongdoing found during its activity, such as fraud, corruption or sexism. The company is now expanding its platform offering in the area of compliance activities, with the aim of becoming the leading provider of compliance software in Europe. The newly launched platform streamlines compliance and risk assessment workflows and automates compliance processes for GDPR, NIS2, ISO27001, SOC2 , and more.
Exponential growth
Since the last investment round in November 2022, Formalize has more than quintupled its turnover and grown from 20 to 90 employees. Already present in the Italian market with an operational team from Denmark, Formalize has opened the Italian branch in Milan and plans to triple the number of employees operating in our country, with the aim of consolidating in Italy and becoming the leading provider of compliance software in Europe. Internationally, Whistleblowing software is used by companies such as Starbucks, Mc Donald’s and Burger King, while the main customers in Italy include La Feltrinelli, Bending Spoons, IBL Banca and the RCS Group, as well as public institutions and non-profit organizations such as Amnesty International, and municipal administrations such as Siena. Formalize has also developed strong partnerships with the best law and compliance firms globally that use Whistleblower Software for their business, and in our country collaborates with law firms and consulting firms. In both 2023 and 2024, the platform developed by Formalize is currently made available to more than five million employees worldwide and offered by over 500 consulting firms including PwC, Bird&Bird and Baker McKenzie. “With EU compliance regulations increasing, the one-size-fits-all approach to compliance is no longer sustainable. By automating much of the compliance process, Formalize can help companies simplify work without compromising security by offering the ability to customize the platform to the specific needs of the business,” Jakob Lilholm, founder and CEO of Formalize, said in a statement. We are happy to close our round with an investor who shares our ambition to become the leading provider of compliance software in Europe. The demand for a tool that simplifies compliance work has never been stronger and will continue to grow.” “As the needs of organisations across the EU increase, the potential for automating compliance and reporting processes is enormous. Formalize has proven with its whistleblowing software that it is able to create a market-leading, user-friendly product that saves time for every professional while staying on top of compliance and regulatory requirements,” explains Michele Foradori, investment director at BlackFin Tech.
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