# William Fairbairn

> William Fairbairn is CEO and co-founder of Zalos, a Y Combinator Fall 2025 company building computer agents for finance operations. Previously UK General Manager at Agicap and a member of McKinsey’s technology practice, he also built and sold a bootstrapped B2B SaaS business. Zalos announced a $3.6 million seed round in March 2026.

- **Role:** CEO & Co-founder at Zalos
- **Organizations:** Zalos, Agicap, McKinsey & Company, Y Combinator
- **Nationality:** British
- **Education:** Master of Philosophy, University of Cambridge
- **Known for:** Built and exited a bootstrapped B2B SaaS business., Led Agicap’s UK business as General Manager., Co-founded Zalos, a Y Combinator Fall 2025 company.

## Career timeline

- **—** — Built and sold a bootstrapped B2B SaaS business after university.
- **—** — Worked in McKinsey’s technology practice.
- **—** — Served as UK General Manager at Agicap.
- **2025** — Built Zalos with Hung Hoang; company joined Y Combinator Fall 2025.
- **2026** — Announced a $3.6 million seed round for Zalos in March.

## Achievements

- Built and exited a bootstrapped B2B SaaS business.
- Led Agicap’s UK business as General Manager.
- Co-founded Zalos, a Y Combinator Fall 2025 company.
- Zalos announced a $3.6 million seed round led by 14 Peaks, with Cohen Circle and 20VC participating.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Argued that finance automation requires a rigorous understanding of existing processes and demonstrated Zalos process mapping.
- **2026-09** — Discussed how AI execution changes finance roles and the governance responsibilities of CFOs and controllers.
- **2026-03** — Announced Zalos’s $3.6 million seed round.

## Links

- Website: https://www.zalos.ai/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/willfairbairn/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/william-fairbairn
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-22