Florida Funders invests in AI-powered RFP automation platform Iris

February 11, 2025

Florida Funders has invested in New York-based Iris, an artificial intelligence-powered platform designed to streamline requests for proposal processes, drive efficiency and boost win rates.

One of the most active venture capital firms in the Southeast, Tampa-based Florida Funders led the investment in Iris' recent funding round through its Fund 3, with Naples Technology Ventures co-investing. No financial details were disclosed. A release said the funding will be used to build out Iris' sales teams, initiate outbound sales efforts and enhance customer discovery.

Iris functions not just as an RFP drafting tool but as a knowledge ledger. According to a release, it identifies and flags outdated or inconsistent information across an organization’s systems, ensuring teams maintain up-to- date, consistent data.

A release said the platform uses advanced AI to generate first drafts in minutes, pulling from accurate, verifiable sources tailored to each project’s specific requirements. Additionally, Iris learns from past RFP wins and losses, helping organizations refine their positioning against competitors. It can also be accessed through Slackbot and Chrome extensions.

As generative AI rapidly transforms the market, Florida Funders Partner Saxon Baum said the firm has been reluctant to make direct investments "due to competition and the lack of technical moat." After meeting with the Iris team and hearing strong referrals from connections like Aharon Chernin of Rewst, a Florida Funders Fund 2 portfolio company, Baum said the team recognized Iris was different.

"The Iris team’s technical depth, especially with an Israeli technologist who served as one of BCG’s GenAI Black Belts, reinforced FLF’s confidence in their capabilities. Research revealed a much larger market opportunity than expected, extending beyond government and public sector sales; the TAM is massive with Iris," Baum said in a statement. "Lastly, Iris’s proprietary generative AI is securely trained on customer-specific data, preventing any external data access and differentiating it from typical 'wrapper' AI tools."

Iris instantly processes a company’s existing content to draft nuanced RFPs and proposals, facilitate collaboration, track deliverables and ensure successful client implementations. A release said the platform has secured a customer base that includes the city of Washington, D.C. government and BuildOps in California.

Florida Funders has fully deployed its Fund 1 and is close to fully deploying its $60 million Fund 2, a release said. It has now begun to invest out of its Fund 3, with Iris being the seventh investment made.

" ... Joining their incredible portfolio of innovative technology companies is a huge milestone for us," Ben Hills, co-founder and CEO of Iris, said in a statement. "Saxon and the entire Florida Funders team have been amazing to work with, and their support comes at the perfect time — coming off a high-growth first year in business, we’re doubling down on bringing our industry-leading AI platform to more teams around the world."