Cleo Labs, a Paris-based AI platform for product regulatory compliance, has raised €1.5M in pre-seed funding led by Larry Berger alongside Kima Ventures and Financière Saint-James. The platform uses multi-agent AI called MARIA to scan product websites, map regulations across 106 countries, generate checklists, monitor changes, and score risks. The capital will accelerate product development, European expansion, and US market entry.
RegTech Funding Hits $2B in Q1
Cleo Labs' raise aligns with surging investor interest in regulatory technology. US RegTech deals reached $2B in Q1 2026, up 28% year-over-year across 103 transactions. This wave reflects mounting compliance pressures from EU rules like ESPR and AI Act. Cleo's focus on physical product compliance differentiates it in a space dominated by finance-oriented tools.
Daily Reg Changes Overwhelm Teams
Brands face 2,300+ regulatory changes annually, or about six per day, across fragmented jurisdictions. One product can trigger 160+ regulations across 40 markets, as seen in Cleo's scan of a Bluetooth speaker that flagged blocks in Japan and South Korea. Manual tracking via spreadsheets fails at scale, risking recalls, fines, and market bans. Cosmetics and toys saw heightened recalls in 2025 due to overlooked substance rules.
Multi-Agent AI Maps Global Regs
Cleo's MARIA pipeline deploys 30+ specialized LLM agents to analyze 162,000+ regulatory texts from 3,700+ sources and 25,000+ authorities. Unlike manual platforms, it delivers instant scans from a product URL without signup, producing jurisdiction-specific checklists. Clients like Decathlon use it for international launches, processing 10x more regulations than traditional methods.
Website Scans Unlock Fast Compliance
Competitors like Assent offer enterprise supply chain tools with $500M+ raised, while Compliance & Risks tracks 110k+ regs manually. Cleo automates due diligence and real-time alerts, achieving an 0.81 F1 score on analyses. This agentic approach handles PDFs in 47 languages with expert validation.
As Naomie Halioua, Co-Founder, noted:
"Our ambition is to transform regulatory compliance - currently seen as a constraint - into a strategic lever for companies. Thanks to AI, it becomes possible to anticipate rather than react."
Investors Back AI RegTech Pivot
Larry Berger led the round with Kima Ventures, known for early-stage bets, and Financière Saint-James, where CTO Alexandre Bloch previously worked as an analyst. This mix signals conviction in Cleo's pivot from AI training to RegTech. Angels including an Accel scout add ecosystem validation amid 21.1% CAGR growth projections.
RegTech Scales to $112B Horizon
The regulatory technology market stands at $25B in 2026, projected to reach $112B by 2033 per Grand View Research. Product compliance software measures $1.45B with 6.64% CAGR via Industry Research. EU tailwinds like ESPR eco-design from 2027 drive demand for automation.
Elite AI-Legal Team Drives Edge
Co-founders Naomie Halioua (École Polytechnique AI MS) built MARIA after Web3 data roles, while CEO Anaëlle Guez brings 10+ years in legal transformation from Havas Group and her LegalTech ACHYLE. Alexandre Bloch adds serial founder experience from immersive tech studio The New Face. The team won The Pitch by Deel (€50K prize) and Product Hunt Top 3.
US Entry Follows Europe Wins
With live deployments for Decathlon, L'Occitane, and Mercedes-Benz across Europe, US, Australia, Canada, and Japan, Cleo plans US entry and cosmetics vertical expansion. SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certifications are in progress. The funding enables hiring to scale MARIA for more categories.