Paid, one such startup consulting to transform the AI space, just made a huge step forward. Last week, they celebrated raising $21.6 million in an oversubscribed seed funding round! Lightspeed Venture Partners into the round. It’s a major, early test success for the young company, one of a class of mobility and logistics startups that emerged from stealth mode last March 2023. Recently raising at a valuation of more than $100 million, Paid has become an overnight favorite for investors and industry professionals.
Manny Medina, the founder of the successful sales automation firm Outreach – now valued at $4.4 billion – has produced some magic with Paid. Against the backdrop of thousands of AI startups, this company’s name rose above a crowded space. Unlike many companies that supply agents, Paid doesn’t furnish agents at all. Rather, its aim is to allow agent creators to serve for pay and have agents pay off efficiently.
Startup CEO Manny Medina described the novel approach as follows, “If you’re a silent broker, you don’t earn commissions.” He emphasized the need for businesses to demonstrate the value that agents deliver to customers, as many agents operate in the background without clear metrics of success. This view is in line with a growing movement within the AI industry. It’s a model they’ve dubbed “results-based billing,” in which companies bill according to the value they produce rather than charging a set fee for service.
Paid’s $10.3 million round of funding (which includes equity and debt instruments) puts its total capital raised at $33.3 million, even while still below a Series A round. This accomplishment speaks to the growing popularity of their novel business model. According to Alexander Schmitt of Lightspeed, “it’s something that we haven’t seen someone else build,” highlighting the distinctive offering that Paid brings to the market.
The AI industry is hurting AI-washing has finally caught up with the AI industry, as 90% of all enterprise AI projects fail to realize any value. A research project undertaken by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that about 95% of enterprise AI pilots never enter production. Schmitt pointed out that after billions invested in these initiatives, only 5% were successful. Given this alternative funding scenario, Paid’s emphasis on proving real impact via its products comes at a particularly opportune moment.
Artisan, a viral sales automation startup from Tony Zhao, an early adopter of Paid. They have understood the power of amplifying AI agents to accelerate their growth. Paid wants to help SaaS companies find and monetize new points of margin saved by enhancing their agent technologies. Medina reiterated the importance of accountability in this sector, stating, “You need to show the value the agent is delivering to your customers because agents are running in the background for the most part.”
Paid has since been in active development, and continues to grow its team and hone its product. This enables the company to play a leading role in how AI agent technology evolves. The startup addresses a critical demand in the field. With more companies than ever attempting to weave AI into their workflows, their approach is especially timely.
