Startups > Futr

Futr

Futr helps organizations automate customer support with secure, hallucination-free AI chatbots.

Seed $6.29M total Founded 2017 London, England 18 employees

Futr builds secure AI chatbots and co-piloted live chat platforms that eliminate hallucination risks through proprietary guardrails and real-time validation. The platform automates customer support across 145+ languages with intelligent escalation and operates in highly regulated environments including government, police, and financial services. Key differentiators include context-aware filtering for sensitive data, seamless handover from bot to agent, and integrations with major platforms like Shopify, Salesforce, and Stripe.

Problem solved

Organizations struggle to provide 24/7 multilingual customer support while managing compliance risks and preventing AI hallucinations in sensitive customer interactions.

Target customer

Mid-market to enterprise organizations in regulated industries (government, police, financial services, housing) requiring secure, multilingual customer support automation with compliance safeguards.

Website LinkedIn Crunchbase

Founders

Andy Wilkins

CEO & Co-Founder

Founded first international wealth management platform (sold 2015), established Fintecho incubator, holds LLB and BSc from University of KwaZulu-Natal with specialization in AI and Rule of Law from UNESCO.

Lee Skyrme

CTO & Co-Founder

MSc Information Technology from Kingston University, led data architecture at QuantumBlack and worked as senior architect at UK National Audit Office, bringing expertise in business intelligence and enterprise systems.

Funding history

Seed £250,000 October 2017 Led by British Robotics Seed Fund · Unknown

Series A £2.4M 2019 Led by Praetura Ventures · Unknown

Series B £2.1M April 2022 Led by Praetura Ventures · Blackfinch Ventures, Britbots, British Robotics Seed Fund

Total raised: $6.29M

Industries

Machine Learning Artificial Intelligence Information Technology Natural Language Processing Software

Pricing

SaaS subscription model with flat pricing structure designed to be more cost-effective than competitors. Specific pricing tiers not publicly available; contact sales for quotes.

Notable customers

Norfolk Police, Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), Superdrug, Suffolk Constabulary, BPAS, Bipolar UK, Denby Pottery, Keep Britain Tidy, Bolton at Home, Believe Housing, Prima Housing, Platform Housing Group, Rail Europe

Integrations

Shopify, WooCommerce, Salesforce, Stripe, major eCommerce and CRM platforms

Website

futr.ai/

Competitors

Intercom

Broader customer communications platform with less focus on security guardrails and regulated industry compliance.

Zendesk

Traditional ticketing and support platform lacking specialized AI hallucination prevention and multi-language real-time translation capabilities.

Ada

Conversational AI platform without the same emphasis on security, compliance, and regulated sector specialization as Futr.

Why this matters: Futr addresses a critical gap in AI chatbot reliability for regulated industries by solving the hallucination problem through proprietary guardrails and real-time validation. With strong traction in UK public sector and government, the company demonstrates both technical sophistication and market-product fit in a high-stakes, regulated segment.

Best for: Public sector organizations, financial services, and regulated industries requiring 24/7 multilingual customer support with guaranteed data security and AI safety.

Use cases

Police Victim Support

Norfolk Police uses Futr's live chat to enable domestic abuse victims to reach support teams without needing to make phone calls, providing safer, more discreet access to critical services. The platform handles sensitive data with compliance-guaranteed guardrails.

Mental Health Crisis Support

CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) uses Futr to provide out-of-hours support across multiple languages, allowing their small team to handle more inquiries without AI hallucinations that could harm vulnerable users.

Housing Association Support

Housing associations like Believe Housing and Platform Housing Group use Futr to automate tenant inquiries (rent, repairs, tenancy questions) in multiple languages while routing complex issues to live agents, reducing support costs while improving response times.

Alternatives

Intercom Better for general SaaS customer communication; less suitable for highly regulated industries or organizations with strict data security requirements.

Zendesk Traditional support ticketing system lacking modern AI features and real-time translation; better for teams prioritizing ticket management over conversational automation.

Drift Conversational marketing platform focused on B2B lead generation; lacks Futr's regulatory compliance and security focus for public sector use.

FAQ

What does Futr do? +

Futr builds AI-powered chatbot and live chat platforms that automate customer support across 145+ languages with built-in safeguards to prevent hallucinations. The platform intelligently escalates complex issues to human agents and operates securely in highly regulated environments like government and financial services.

How much does Futr cost? +

Futr uses a SaaS subscription model with flat pricing designed to be cost-effective. Specific pricing is not publicly listed; interested organizations should contact their sales team for custom quotes based on usage and features.

What are alternatives to Futr? +

Key alternatives include Intercom (broader customer communications), Zendesk (traditional support ticketing), and Drift (conversational marketing). Intercom and Zendesk lack Futr's regulatory compliance focus, while Drift targets marketing rather than customer support.

Who uses Futr? +

Futr's customers span public sector (police forces, councils), charities (CALM, BPAS), housing associations, and private sector organizations like Superdrug. The platform is particularly strong with UK-based regulated organizations requiring secure, compliant customer support.

How does Futr compare to Intercom? +

Futr specializes in hallucination-proof AI with proprietary guardrails and compliance for regulated industries, while Intercom is a broader customer communications platform. Futr excels in public sector and highly sensitive use cases; Intercom is more versatile for general B2B SaaS communication needs.