Orq.ai continues to grow and closes €2.3M pre-seed round
Amsterdam, March 12, 2024 – Orq.ai is the first European all-in-one Generative AI platform for Enterprises to integrate with various Large Language Models (LLMs) and enable close collaboration across the organization. Today, we are announcing that we will accelerate our growth with the help of additional funding. After a first oversubscribed pre-seed funding round of EUR 800k in September 2023, we closed an extension round of an additional EUR 1.5M. We are also launching two new products, Experiment and Optimize.
Our extension round is led by XO Ventures (Bart Malenstein and Marc van Meerwijk) and xdeck ventures. In addition, Curiosity VC and Spacetime joined this round as well.
Our initial pre-seed round was led by Curiosity VC and Spacetime (Adriaan Mol). Golden Egg Check Capital and various angel investors, such as Arjé Cahn (Bloomreach) and Koen Köppen (Mollie, Klarna), participated.
Backed by
New products - Experiment and Optimize
Orq.ai believes every team member in an organization is part of AI transformations and should be equipped with easy-to-use tools and security measures to make the transition. Domain Experts and Product Managers are needed to ensure high-quality and compliance with new use cases. The latest products, Experiment and Optimize, are introduced alongside the existing Run solution but can also be used independently to ease the implementation for organizations.
Experiment makes it easy to set up and test thousands of Generative AI use cases, prompts, and data sets across 75+ AI models. Organizations have complete control and transparency with custom quality, cost, and performance controls.
With Run, an intelligent business rules engine, AI applications can quickly be shipped to production with granular control over localization, personalization, and data privacy.
Finally, with Optimize, teams have real-time analytics on all interactions with Generative AI models, which domain experts can curate for ongoing improvements and model fine-tuning. This end-to-end workflow allows domain experts, product managers, and engineers to collaborate seamlessly in orq.ai.
"The complexity and speed of new possibilities in Generative AI requires a new way of working and new tools for organizations. Our goal is to demystify AI by making it accessible to everyone. With our integrated Generative AI platform that meets the highest EU security and data protection standards, Orq.ai is the right partner for companies to stay competitive. We see our existing Enterprise clients already using Orq.ai as an enabler for larger AI transformations and new ways of working," explains Sohrab Hosseini, co-founder of Orq.ai. "Anthony and I are very excited about this new round of funding and look forward to continuing to launch new products that help clients internalize AI innovation safely and responsibly."
Funding round
The current financing round is led by XO Ventures of Bart Malenstein (Former CEO Bergman Clinics and Founder/CEO Quin.md) and Marc van Meerwijk, as well as German-based xdeck ventures. Existing investors Curiosity VC and Spacetime from Adriaan Mol (founder of Mollie and Bird CRM) also joined this round. The new investments will be used to expand the product team and the go-to-market team for the European market. The initial focus will be on Germany and the Benelux countries.
"We are very excited to work with founders Sohrab and Anthony and the entire Orq.ai team to help them further develop and roll out their cutting-edge Generative AI platform," said Bart Malenstein, Managing Partner at XO Ventures. "As the complexity and number of Generative AI models continues to grow, there is a great need for a solution that enables AI transformations and seamlessly integrates AI models in the business. Orq.ai provides such a solution via a highly user-friendly platform that empowers non-technical team members, such as domain experts and product managers," adds Marc van Meerwijk, Managing Partner at XO Ventures.
"At xdeck, we believe that the Generative AI market is rapidly verticalizing, and new use cases for different AI models, ranging from chatbots to other applications, are on the rise. Orq.ai provides the right toolkit for enterprises and AI startups alike to infuse their work with AI using experimentation, operations, and optimization," said Markus Gick, Managing Partner at Cologne-based xdeck Ventures.
About orq.ai
orq.ai, formerly known as Orquesta.cloud, was founded in 2022 by Sohrab Hosseini and Anthony Diaz. It empowers companies to seamlessly integrate and operate their products using the capabilities of Generative AI through a unified collaboration platform.
The platform centralizes prompt management, streamlines experimentation, collects feedback, and provides real-time insights into performance and costs. It's compatible with all major Large Language Model providers, ensuring transparency and scalability in Large Language Model Operations (LLM Ops), ultimately leading to shorter customer release cycles and reduced costs for both experiments and production environments.
About XO Ventures
XO Ventures is an early-stage, hands-on health/tech investor. Our focus is on actively supporting founders with hands-on entrepreneurial experience and operational knowledge, having successfully founded and led multiple companies ourselves, like Quin and Bergman Clinics. As we are backed by family capital, we have a flexible investment horizon and operate as a long-term partner. Visit xoventures.eu.
About Curiosity
Curiosity is an Amsterdam-based venture capital fund focused on early-stage investments in ambitious, diverse teams based in the Benelux, Nordics, and Baltics. The fund invests in AI-first software companies that create value for businesses and society. Curiosity is led by two experienced operator-investors, Herman Kienhuis, and Maurice Beckand Verwee, supported by a community of expert advisors and portfolio company founders who all become co-owners of the fund. Visit curiosityvc.com.
About xdeck
xdeck Ventures is an early-stage venture capital investor focusing on tech companies with superior solutions in process automation, applied big data / AI, and sustainability tech. xdeck ventures invests in inspiring teams with deep domain expertise and a distinctive understanding of the problem they are trying to solve. Moreover, they are looking for differentiated products or services that solve a real pain point for customers and teams building something significant with the spirit to walk the extra mile. As investors on eye level, xdeck ventures empower founders to constantly challenge their status quo by being their biggest critic and close sparring partner at the same time. Visit xdeck.vc.
About Spacetime
Spacetime is an independent investment vehicle deploying capital and hard-won experience to fellow founders. It provides flexible and long-term growth capital to technology companies in various industries. Through active involvement and through sharing its knowledge, network, and experience, gained from building companies such as Mollie and Bird CRM, it supports entrepreneurs in achieving growth for their business. Visit www.spacetime.nl.
