The best companies usually solve a very simple problem. So when Syed and Akhil approached us with their idea for Pie, it was a no-brainer: they wanted to help small businesses grow. It was informed by the fact that at Toast and Square Syed and Akhil (and Cameron in her past startup) saw over and over again that while there are many nice-to-have backoffice or efficiency products in the market, ultimately SMBs live, die, or thrive by the growth they can drive to their businesses.
What we observed along the way was that this is a truly powerhouse team. Syed is unrivaled when it comes to scalably selling to SMBs. Akhil’s creativity and speed when it comes to launching new products is so exciting to watch. And the joy that their product brings to their customers (evidenced from the testimonial of a small woman-run businesses all the way to being called out on a public earnings call) reinforces the fact that they are solving a core, motivating problem for so many businesses.
AI advanced in parallel to the company. While we observed the models getting better and better, Syed and Akhil were turning these improvements into capabilities that brick-and-mortar SMBs - so often the last ones to benefit from breakout technologies - could use to take advantage of voice AI, GEO, and LLMs to succeed. Pie became their trusted partner, and we’re excited to watch this relationship evolve.
We’re thrilled to have Lightspeed, Capital One, F-prime, Wex, and many more join this new round. And we’re even more excited to see what this team will create and achieve with this new round of capital. Finally, for any SMBs who are interested in how to use AI to grow their business- check out Pie!
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