Maxed, an AI operating system for CPA firms, announced $850,000 in pre-seed funding on April 23, 2026 led by Focal VC. Akshay Kothari, co-founder of Notion, also participated in the round. The company was founded by 18-year-old Fifi Siddiqui.
The Product
Maxed replaces the fragmented stack of tools CPA firms currently use with a single AI-native platform built around two agents, according to Intelligence360.
Max handles back-office operations: monitoring activity across the platform, keeping workflows moving, and coordinating handoffs that normally require constant manual oversight. Ed is the client-facing agent, engaging clients through the firm’s branded portal. Ed handles client communication while keeping accountants in control. Every message remains visible to the firm and nothing goes out without approval.
“Most CPA firms are stuck chasing missing documents, following up on clients, and moving data between systems that were never built to work together,” Siddiqui said in the announcement. “A lot of new AI tools are just layered on top of the same fragmented stack, which means the manual work doesn’t really disappear.”
The Workforce Problem
The CPA profession is facing a structural labor shortage. Firms cannot hire fast enough to meet demand, and the manual work of chasing documents, coordinating handoffs, and managing client communication consumes the majority of billable hours. Maxed’s pitch is that AI agents can absorb that coordination overhead, letting existing staff serve more clients without adding headcount.
Early-Stage Vertical Play
At $850K, Maxed is early, but the investor profile is notable. Focal VC led the round, and Notion co-founder Kothari’s participation signals interest from operators who have built productivity platforms at scale. The vertical-specific approach, building a unified system for one profession rather than a horizontal agent framework, mirrors the strategy behind larger raises like Petual’s $20M for audit automation announced the same day. The bet: purpose-built agent systems for specific professional services workflows will outperform general-purpose AI tools bolted onto existing stacks.