Bridge, a data aggregation and reporting startup for private-market allocators, has raised $5.1 million in seed funding led by Thicket Ventures, a venture capital firm headed by Justin Wisz with partners Amy DeTolla and Dani Fava.
The round included investors from the registered investment advisor (RIA) and wealth management sector, among them Fava, RFG Advisory president Ed Swenson, former Focus Financial Partners executive Molly Bennard, and Summit Trail Advisors founding partner Peter Lee.
Founded in 2024 by Alex Goodwin and Ayo Ekhator, Bridge builds software that automates data collection and reporting for firms allocating to private markets. Its tools help RIAs, family offices, and institutional investors handle data from alternative asset classes, where inconsistent formats make reporting complex.
Goodwin, previously with Audax Group and Leonard Green & Partners, co-founded Bridge after identifying inefficiencies in private-market reporting. Ekhator, who worked at Blackstone’s Strategic Capital Group, brought experience in fund operations and investor reporting.
Automating Data for Private-Market Allocators
Bridge’s system collects information from fund documents and categorizes it for use across other reporting environments. “We automate the collection of that information for all things alts,” Goodwin told. “Then, using our AI system, it extracts that information, categorizes it, and makes it available in other systems.”
The company works with limited partners in private funds, including wealth management firms and institutional asset managers. Many of these organizations still rely on manual reporting processes, a method Goodwin referred to as Bridge’s main competitor.
The startup operates in a growing segment of financial technology that has attracted increasing venture capital. Competitors include Canoe Intelligence, which raised $36 million in a Series C round led by Goldman Sachs in July 2024, and Arch, which closed a $52 million Series B led by Oak HC/FT in September. Both companies focus on automating data extraction and reporting for alternative investments.
Building an AI-Native Foundation
Bridge’s product is built with automation at its core. “Other players have to retrofit, and it’s really hard to change the trajectory of that ship,” Wisz said.
The founders developed the idea while studying at Harvard Business School, drawing from their private equity and investment backgrounds to simplify reporting workflows. The firm currently has six employees in addition to the two founders. Goodwin said the new funding will go toward expanding both the team and the company’s technical capacity.
Focusing on Limited Partners
Goodwin said Bridge’s current clients fall into two categories: mid-sized advisory firms with around $10 billion in assets under management that are building their alternatives business, and larger firms seeking to simplify their existing reporting processes. The company’s present focus is on limited partners, with plans to extend its tools to other market participants in the future.
RIAs increasingly seek systems that help monitor cash flows, valuations, and fund documents without manual work. Goodwin and Ekhator’s backgrounds in private equity and alternatives have shaped Bridge’s approach to meeting those needs.
“Our goal is to reach meaningful scale in assets under administration,” Goodwin said. “Today we are focused on the LP side, and that will be for the foreseeable future where we are.”
