Rivulo raises £375,000 pre-seed to automate operations via conversational no-code
This article covers Rivulo, an AI startup, which has raised £375,000 in a pre-seed funding round led by SFC Capital to build a no-code automation platform that lets non-technical operations teams create and run automations through conversation. The development aims to make automation accessible to operations functions such as customer support, HR and finance, reducing repetitive manual work and lowering the technical barrier to adoption.
Rivulo, an AI startup, has raised £375,000 in a pre-seed funding round led by SFC Capital to build a no-code automation platform that lets non-technical operations teams create and run automations through conversation. The funding will be used to accelerate product development and expand go-to-market activities as Rivulo seeks to reduce repetitive manual work inside operations teams.
Why it matters
Operations teams in the UK commonly spend more than 10 hours a week on repetitive tasks, time that could be redirected to higher-value work. Tools aimed at solving those problems often assume engineering skills or require technical setup, leaving operations teams to adapt engineering-focused products rather than the other way around. Rivulo targets that gap by making automation accessible through conversational interfaces, potentially lowering the barrier to adoption across customer support, HR, finance and other ops functions.
Inside the product
Rivulo describes its product as a no-code automation platform that enables non-technical users to build workflows through conversation rather than code. The company says the platform helps eliminate repetitive manual work and reduce the time operations teams spend on routine tasks. Rivulo already has paying customers and plans to use the investment to deepen the product, scale its go-to-market efforts and support more operations teams as it rolls out new features.
Who are the investors?
The round was led by SFC Capital and raised £375,000 at pre-seed. Edward Stevenson, Fund Principal at SFC Capital, is named in the announcement as the lead investor.
In the announcement, Edward Stevenson, Fund Principal at SFC Capital, said:
Rivulo is tackling a problem that every operations team recognises but few tools actually solve. Mike and Tom have the right combination of technical depth and real-world ops experience to build something that genuinely works for the people who need it most. We're excited to back them at this stage.
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Founder perspective
Rivulo was founded by Tom Whiteley and Mike Miner. The announcement highlights Miner’s background in leading operations at several of the United Kingdom’s fastest-growing startups, a practical experience the company says informs its product design. The founders position Rivulo as a tool for people who "spend their days firefighting" and want repetitive work automated without needing to build engineering solutions.
In the announcement, Mike Miner, Co-founder & CEO at Rivulo, said:
Operations teams have been handed tools built for engineers and told to get on with it. Rivulo exists to fix that. Our goal is to help the people who spend their days firefighting get to a place where the repetitive work just gets done, without them having to think about it.
The bigger picture
Rivulo’s raise arrives amid growing interest from AI investors in automation tools that improve operational efficiency without heavy developer involvement. The approach reflects a broader push to democratise automation across departments that historically relied on engineers or expensive integrations. For UK startups building ops-focused AI products, early traction and a pragmatic route to customers remain critical markers for follow-on funding.
The deal underscores continued activity in the UK early-stage market for AI-enabled productivity tools and adds to a steady flow of pre-seed investments aimed at operational tooling across Europe.
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