Castellum.AI Secures $8.5M Series A to Combat Financial Crime Using AI

Financial crime costs the global economy over $2 trillion annually, with compliance teams struggling under outdated systems that generate thousands of false positives daily. Castellum.AI, a leader in AI-driven financial crime compliance, has secured $8.5M in Series A funding to address these challenges. The round was led by Curql, with participation from BTech Consortium, Framework Venture Partners, and existing investors.

The Problem and Solution

Legacy systems force institutions to choose between accuracy and speed, creating bottlenecks in customer onboarding and payments. Castellum.AI’s platform combines in-house AI agents, risk data, and AML/KYC screening to reduce false positives by 94% and compliance review time by 83%. Their proprietary data collection process monitors 200,000+ global sources, updated every 5 minutes.

Founder’s Vision

CEO Peter Piatetsky, a former regulator and compliance executive, founded Castellum.AI after witnessing the inefficiencies in financial crime detection. "In one month, we had 38,000 alerts and only one real risk," he recalls. The company’s explainable AI agents are trained on regulatory guidance from the OCC, NCUA, and NY DFS, and have even passed CAMS practice exams.

Market and Business Model

Castellum.AI serves banks, credit unions, fintechs, and crypto firms with a subscription-based model. Their modular approach allows seamless integration into existing workflows, making them a preferred choice for Tier 1 financial institutions.

Future Plans

The funding will fuel engineering, customer success, and AI agent expansion. Piatetsky advises startups to focus on revenue and partnerships, leveraging NYC’s robust ecosystem. "We’re laser-focused on scaling adoption," he says.

Investor Confidence

Investors were drawn to Castellum.AI’s clear mission, in-house AI, and data capabilities. "We’re not just riding the AI wave," Piatetsky emphasizes. The company aims to become the .