Central, a company offering an autonomous back-office platform for startups, has closed an $8.6 million seed funding round led by First Round Capital to scale its AI-driven solution for operational tasks.

This investment round included participation from Y Combinator, Ritual Capital, Multimodal Ventures, Alumni Ventures, and Surgepoint Capital. Prominent founders such as Zeus co-founder and CEO Kulveer Taggar, WayUp co-founder and CTO JJ Fliegelman, and WePay co-founder and CPO Richard Aberman also contributed to the funding. Central intends to allocate the capital towards expanding its AI platform, growing its expert support team, and developing additional features and integrations to simplify startup operations.

Central’s platform is designed to assist startups by automating critical back-office functions, including payroll, HR, accounting, taxes, benefits, and compliance. The AI-first solution differentiates itself by integrating directly into Slack, enabling founders to manage these tasks through simple requests rather than navigating complex software or forms.

The company currently serves hundreds of high-growth startups, including Wordware, Wyndly, Poseidon Aerospace, Bitesight, Abel Police, Ulysses, Deepnight, Blaxel, and Diode. To date, Central has processed over $75 million in payroll transactions, with approximately one-third of its customer base transitioning from established providers such as Rippling, Gusto, and Deel.

Josh Wymer, co-founder and CEO of Central, commented on the funding, stating, “Founders don’t start companies to get buried in payroll forms or state compliance filings. This funding allows us to scale what’s working, as hundreds of startups already rely on Central as their AI-powered back office. We’re growing fast because founders want to focus on building, not bureaucracy. Central gives them the operational leverage of a full HR and finance team, without having to hire one.”Meka Asonye, a partner at First Round Capital, also provided a statement: “Every founder hits a moment where back-office operations start getting in the way of building the business. Central is the first solution we’ve seen that doesn’t just streamline the work, it eliminates it. The team possesses a rare combination of firsthand experience, technical expertise, and a profound understanding of what startups truly need. We’re proud to back Central as they redefine what modern, AI-powered operations should look like.”