Deutsche Bank Boosts Efficiency with Strategic Investment in Governance Automation Platform Kosli

Deutsche Bank’s Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) group recently co-led a significant funding round for Kosli, emphasizing the importance of governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) in today’s rapidly evolving DevOps landscape. As organizations increasingly adopt cloud technologies, the GRC workflows often lag, creating bottlenecks that hinder software development and elevate risks.

Funding Round Details

The funding round saw contributions from notable participants such as Heavybit, Defined Capital, Transpose Platform, along with several angel investors. This strategic investment aims to enhance Kosli’s capabilities in helping financial institutions streamline their processes.

Challenges in GRC Workflows

Kosli identifies that many organizations face challenges in their GRC workflows, which have not kept pace with the transformations in software development:

• Delays in Production: Lengthy GRC processes can slow down the release of software changes.
• Increased Risk: Inefficient workflows can lead to higher risks associated with compliance.
• Infrastructure Weaknesses: According to a 2024 McKinsey survey, 41% of global financial institutions cited metrics and reporting as a critical weakness.

Kosli’s Innovative Solutions

Founded in 2019, Kosli is on a mission to assist financial institutions in overcoming these challenges. The company focuses on automating Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) controls and maintaining audit trails. This automation allows organizations to:

• Deliver compliant software changes rapidly.
• Enhance security in development processes.
• Reduce manual errors that can lead to audits or system failures.

New Features for Financial Services

In conjunction with the funding announcement, Kosli also launched Kosli Enterprise, which includes new features tailored for financial services:

• Support for large user bases.
• Automation of change management processes.
• Generation of audit evidence for compliance purposes.

Expert Insights

Martin Reeves, who leads engineering platforms and practice at Deutsche Bank’s technology, data, and innovation division, states, “Kosli addresses the specific needs of software development teams that operate in highly regulated industries.”

Mike Long, CEO of Kosli, adds, “Currently, teams in regulated industries rely on manual inputs for control and audit decisions, which hampers software delivery performance and increases risks. We aim to revolutionize this process through controls engineering, enabling teams to deliver compliant and secure changes swiftly and at scale.”

For more insights on software development and compliance in financial services, check out this Forbes article on the role of compliance in software development.