Fifteenth

High-Level Overview

Fifteenth is a San Francisco-based technology company offering an AI-powered tax platform tailored for founders, investors, executives, and tech professionals with complex financial situations, such as equity compensation (ISOs, RSUs, NSOs), liquidity events (IPOs, acquisitions), partnership income (K-1s), and stock trading.[1][2][4] It serves high-earning individuals from companies like Nvidia, Rippling, and Figma, solving pain points in traditional tax prep—manual data entry, email chaos, and high fees—through one-click integrations (e.g., Workday, Rippling, Robinhood, Carta), AI-driven document organization, scenario modeling, and year-round CPA support at flat fees starting at $1,000 annually.[2][4][5] Clients have saved $10,000–$20,000 on average, with some up to $100,000 via optimized strategies, and the company recently raised $8.25M in seed funding led by A* and General Catalyst.[1][2][4]

Origin Story

Fifteenth was founded by CEO Ankur Dahiya, a second-time entrepreneur with leadership experience at Rippling, Flexport, X (formerly Twitter), and Meta; his prior startup, RunX (a cloud infrastructure tool for developers), was acquired by Rippling.[1][2] Co-founder and Chief Tax Officer Laura Moreno, a CPA, brings expertise from PwC, a billion-dollar family office, and leading Carta's tax advisory team, specializing in high-net-worth clients.[1][2] The idea emerged from Dahiya's recognition of outdated tax processes amid booming equity-heavy compensation in tech; the company launched as Haven Tax before rebranding to Fifteenth in early 2025, securing $8.25M seed funding in February 2025 to scale AI workflows.[1][2][4]

Core Differentiators

• AI-Powered Platform with Integrations: One-click connections to Workday, Rippling, Robinhood, Charles Schwab, Coinbase, Carta, AngelList, and more; AI ingests documents, organizes data, scans for issues, and provides visualizations of income/tax evolution.[2][4][5]
• Year-Round Personalized Service: Unlimited CPA access, proactive quarterly planning, custom scenario modeling for equity/liquidity events, and real-time status tracking—replacing seasonal, email-heavy traditional CPAs.[1][2][5]
• Affordable Flat-Fee Pricing: Starts at $1,000/year, targeting those too complex for TurboTax but avoiding $10k–$20k Big Four fees; combines Big Four expertise with automation for precision and ease.[2][4][5]
• Proven Savings and Tech Focus: Average $10k–$20k savings (up to $100k); built by tech veterans for tech pros, filling the gap in modern tax tech.[1][5]

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Fifteenth rides the wave of AI automation in fintech and the explosion of equity compensation in tech, where founders, VCs, and employees face increasingly complex taxes amid frequent IPOs, M&A, and stock volatility.[1][2] Timing aligns with post-2020 tech wealth creation and AI's maturity for secure data handling, disrupting a stagnant CPA industry unchanged for decades.[1][4] Market forces like remote work, crypto/stock trading, and K-1 proliferation from VC deals favor its integrations and modeling; it influences the ecosystem by normalizing proactive tax planning, enabling tech pros to focus on innovation rather than April 15th stress, and attracting VC backing from A* and General Catalyst.[2][4]

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Fifteenth is positioned to capture a slice of the $15B+ U.S. tax prep market by scaling AI for hyper-personalized, always-on services amid rising tech wealth complexity.[2] Next steps likely include platform expansions (e.g., more integrations, advanced AI predictions) and client growth beyond seed stage, fueled by its $8.25M raise.[1][4] Trends like AI regulation, equity tax reforms, and embedded finance will shape it—potentially evolving into a full wealth management hub—while its tech-founder roots ensure influence in startup tax optimization, making April 15th truly "just another day."[1][5]