Zocks, a San Francisco-based startup that has developed an innovative AI assistant tailored for financial advisers, has successfully raised $45 million in a Series B funding round. This significant investment was co-led by prominent venture capital firms Lightspeed Venture Partners and QED Investors, with participation from existing investors including Motive Ventures and 14Peaks Capital. This latest funding round comes less than a year after Zocks secured $13.8 million in its Series A round, bringing the total amount raised since its inception in 2022 to an impressive $65 million.
The company was co-founded by Mark Gilbert, who previously held key positions at Microsoft and Twilio, and Akos Ratku. Their vision for Zocks is rooted in the belief that financial advisers can greatly benefit from leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance their client interactions and streamline their workflows. Gilbert’s experience at Twilio, where he oversaw compliance and recognized the potential of extracting valuable insights from communications, played a pivotal role in shaping the direction of Zocks.
Zocks launched its AI assistant in February 2024, and it has quickly gained traction within the financial services industry. Currently, the software is utilized by over 5,000 financial firms, including notable names such as Ameritas Life Insurance, Cambridge Investment Research, and Carson Group. The company operates on a Software as a Service (SaaS) model, charging per adviser and offering both direct sales to individual advisers and enterprise contracts to larger firms. Remarkably, Zocks has reported an eightfold year-over-year growth in revenue, underscoring the demand for its services.
One of the standout features of Zocks’ AI assistant is its ability to extract and organize information from conversations between advisers and their clients. This capability not only helps advisers keep track of important details but also enables them to identify new financial planning opportunities. For instance, if an adviser needs to find clients with children approaching college age who do not have a 529 plan, the AI can generate a list of such clients and suggest personalized actions to take. This proactive approach sets Zocks apart from traditional note-taking systems, as it anticipates the needs of advisers and provides actionable insights based on the data it collects.
The financial advisory industry faces significant challenges, including a shortage of qualified advisers and an overwhelming amount of manual work. Gilbert emphasizes that Zocks is focused on addressing these issues by combining communication tools with AI technology to help advisers grow their practices more efficiently. The company’s commitment to maintaining high standards of compliance and privacy is particularly crucial in the heavily regulated financial services sector. Zocks does not record conversations by default; instead, its AI agent listens to discussions and compiles relevant information into organized tables, ensuring that sensitive client data remains secure.
As the fintech sector continues to rebound, with global venture capital funding for financial technology startups reaching $51.8 billion in 2025—an increase of 27% from the previous year—Zocks is positioning itself as a key player in the AI-driven finance landscape. The company’s ability to break into the enterprise segment early and earn the trust of some of the largest registered investment advisers (RIAs) in the country speaks volumes about its product’s effectiveness and reliability.
Investor confidence in Zocks is evident, with representatives from Lightspeed and QED praising the founding team’s customer-centric approach and their deep understanding of building scalable, secure, and user-friendly enterprise-grade products. Laura Bock, a partner at QED Investors, highlighted Zocks’ successful expansion into adjacent verticals like insurance, which is often challenging without a product that meets the stringent requirements of regulated environments.
Looking ahead, Zocks plans to expand its operations beyond the U.S. and Canada, with ambitions to enter the European market. This expansion is driven by the recognition that the demand for financial advisory services is growing, and the need for efficient tools to support advisers is becoming increasingly critical. As the industry grapples with a shortage of financial professionals, Zocks aims to fill this gap by providing advisers with the tools they need to serve their clients effectively.
In summary, Zocks is at the forefront of transforming the financial advisory landscape through its AI-powered assistant. By focusing on enhancing adviser-client interactions, streamlining workflows, and maintaining compliance, Zocks is not only addressing the current challenges faced by financial advisers but also paving the way for a more efficient and effective future in financial services. With strong investor backing and a clear vision for growth, Zocks is poised to make a significant impact in the fintech space, helping advisers unlock new opportunities and better serve their clients in an increasingly complex financial environment.