SavvyWise, an AI platform built for Australian tax research (and more), has officially raised an oversubscribed Seed round at a $10 million valuation, just seven months after incorporating.
Founded in July 2025 by Perth-based accountant Drew Pflaum and AI developer Agastya Patel, SavvyWise has quickly become a go-to platform for accountants researching complex tax questions faster and with greater confidence.
Since launching in November 2025, SavvyWise has attracted sign-up interest from more than 1,500 accountants and 500 accounting firms. Firms begin with a free one-month trial before choosing a paid subscription. The Seed round, intentionally set at $250,000–$500,000 and offered to family, friends, employees and customers, was oversubscribed within weeks, closing at more than $600,000.
“We have a massive couple of months ahead of us,” Drew shared. “We look forward to all the new accountants that join the journey and, in the not-too-distant future, giving more accountants and the general public the opportunity to become an investor in SavvyWise too.”
The funding is now being deployed across marketing expansion, building an exclusive library of expert tax commentary, and strengthening the platform’s technology and security as adoption grows.
Built by an Accountant, for Accountants
SavvyWise was born from a simple but powerful insight: general-purpose AI tools are impressive, but not always safe or reliable for professional tax research.
“When ChatGPT first came out, I was on it in the first week,” Drew said. “I asked a classic tax question and instantly thought, this is going to be great when we can use this with authoritative content accountants rely upon.”
But the cracks were obvious.
“It works exceptionally well, but when it doesn’t, it fabricates legislation or cases,” he explained. “It’s not necessarily purpose-built for accountants.”
SavvyWise was created to bridge that gap, combining AI speed with structured, trusted sources tailored specifically to Australian accountants. Alongside tax research, the platform also supports general-purpose AI tasks like drafting advice, preparing emails, and creating Excel formulas, positioning it as a time-saving, revenue-generating assistant for firms.
A Morning Startup Conversation That Changed Everything
While the Seed round is recent news, SavvyWise’s origin story traces back to the Perth startup community, and a seat at Morning Startup.
Drew had been attending sessions on and off since 2016. After returning to the community with fresh energy, the idea for SavvyWise resurfaced. One Morning Startup presentation sparked a shift from “someone should build this” to “maybe I can build this.”
“If a couple of guys here in Perth can do this, maybe building the research thing is something feasible for me,” Drew recalled.
Then, in late March at Riff, another pivotal moment happened. “My co-founder Agastya sat next to me. Never met him before,” Drew said. “We got chatting, met for coffee the next day… and then went, alright, let’s do this.”
Agastya brought deep technical capability and startup drive. Drew brought domain expertise and industry credibility. Together, they incorporated SavvyWise in July 2025, with Drew stepping away from a successful accounting career to go all in.
Moving Fast, Learning Fast
From incorporation in July to MVP in September, SavvyWise moved quickly, intentionally launching at the uncomfortable edge of “ready enough.”
“We launched when it was just good enough,” Drew said. “User feedback was everything.”
They observed how accountants used the product, refined workflows, and iterated rapidly. Early traction followed. Strong conversion signals, growing trial numbers, and increasing pipeline value confirmed product-market fit was emerging faster than expected.
That early momentum set the foundation for the position SavvyWise finds itself in today, scaling with both revenue traction and community backing.
Growing from Riff
Based at Riff as part of Spacecubed’s Founder Membership, Drew credits the environment and network as an important part of the journey.
“You’ve got a hub of startups… people trying to do similar things,” he said. “And the network that Spacecubed has was a big drawcard.”
In their Seed announcement, Drew specifically acknowledged both Spacecubed’s Founder Program and Venture UWA for their positive impact on SavvyWise’s growth to date.
With capital secured and adoption rising, the focus now is clear: expand reach, deepen product capability, and continue building the AI-powered future of Australian tax research.
And as Drew puts it, “we have a MASSIVE couple of months ahead of us.”
SavvyWise’s journey, from Morning Startup conversation to $10M valuation in seven months, is a reminder of what can happen when strong ideas meet the right community.
If you’re building something of your own and want to surround yourself with ambitious founders, mentors and opportunities, explore Spacecubed’s Founder Membership, available from $270/month +GST, and book a free tour today to see how you can accelerate your next stage of growth.