AI has become almost as indispensable to organizations as oat milk in a millennial’s office coffee machine. Feeling overwhelmed by the AI hype as an entrepreneur? Amsterdam-based startup Orq.AI promises to bring order to that chaos. And with notable success: founders Sohrab Hosseini and Anthony Diaz have secured ‘5 million in fresh funding from several high-profile investors.
Walking right into the AI house; are the founders already dizzy from all the attention? ‘When it comes to AI, you usually see much crazier numbers flying around,’ Hosseini tells in an interview with magazine Quote. On LinkedIn, he announced that Orq.AI has raised a hefty ‘5 million in growth capital. And that’s in just two years.
After two previous funding rounds ‘800,000 in September 2023 and ‘1.5 million in March 2024; the total has now reached ‘7.3 million. Early believers include Bart Malenstein and billionaire Adriaan Mol, who invested through their respective vehicles XO Capital and Spacetime, together contributing a substantial portion of the total funding. In the latest round, German Dragons’ Den billionaire Carsten Maschmeyer also stepped in.
Champagne-worthy news, you might think; but according to Hosseini, the bottles have already been sitting next to the recycling bin for a while. The money has been in the bank for months; they simply waited to announce it alongside the launch of their newest product, the intriguingly named Agent Runtime.
Artificial Intelligence on the Payroll
Former McKinsey consultant Hosseini founded Orq.AI three years ago together with his Cuban co-founder Anthony Diaz, with the goal of joining, and winning, the global AI race. And by their own account, it’s working. Orq.AI already serves several well-known clients, including BrandNewDay, AFAS, and Moneybird, with more major names waiting in line.
Hosseini describes Orq.AI as akin to the air traffic control tower at Schiphol Airport, monitoring all services within an organization. ‘AI tools are like employees’once onboard, you need to onboard them properly, reward them, and keep checking in on how they’re doing.’ Their development and management platform aims to do exactly that: oversee and optimize all AI systems in use.
Healthy Growth
It’s unknown what percentage of shares the founders have given up. What is clear, however, is that all early shareholders remain on board, and the group has now been strengthened with capital from investors across the German border.
How does Orq.AI plan to use the new funds? The founders intend to invest in product improvements, expanding sales, and accelerating international growth in the global AI market.
They’re even openly dreaming about an expansion into the United States, still the mecca for AI entrepreneurs. ‘The constant Dutch consensus culture in decision-making is killing for this company,’ Hosseini says. ‘In the world of AI, it’s all about innovation power; the ability to keep up.’
That ambition aligns perfectly with the duo’s American aspirations. If all goes as planned, they hope to guide many more clients through the fast-moving world of AI on both sides of the Atlantic.
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