Certo raises $4M to modernize regulatory compliance

Founded a year ago by Bastien Deliège-Coste and Jean Duquenne, Certo is a startup focused on regulatory compliance for the beauty and consumer goods industries. It recently raised $3.5 million in seed funding, complemented by a $500,000 loan, bringing the total to $4 million. This round was led by Daphni, with participation from Entrepreneurs First, Motier Ventures, the family office of the owners of the Galeries Lafayette group, and Transpose Platform.

Certo has developed a platform that uses artificial intelligence agents to automate regulatory reviews, ranging from ingredient checks to market access. This technology enables companies to verify the compliance of their products across more than 40 international markets, including the European Union, the United States, China, South Korea, Japan, and Latin America. Regulations vary significantly from one border to another, particularly regarding ingredients, labeling, and packaging, but this process, which previously took several days, is now reduced to just a few minutes.

Bastien Deliège-Coste, co-founder and CEO of Certo, emphasizes that regulatory reviews are the critical path for every product launch, yet the process has not changed in decades. The company was created because regulatory teams were overwhelmed by increasing demands without any tools designed for their actual workflows. With the funds raised, Certo plans to strengthen its engineering and regulatory teams, as well as accelerate the development of its five platform modules. At the same time, the startup aims to intensify its commercial efforts in Europe and the United States.