Nov 17, 2023

Artisan AI , a San Francisco, CA-based AI startup that plans to build human-like digital workers, called Artisans, raised $2.3m in pre-seed funding. Participants in the round included Y Combinator, Bayhouse Capital, and Oliver Jung, who was an early investor in Revolut, Robinhood and Brex. The company is using the funding to build the team, with a focus on engineering and product. Founded in 2023 by Jaspar Carmichael-Jack and Dr. Rupert Dodkins, Artisan AI is advancing Artisans that automate job workflows form end to end. Artisans act as additions to teams they join, rather than software tools for them to use – this makes them notably distinct from existing solutions which require constant management from a human. The first Artisan, Ava, is a sales representative launching on December 4th. Right now, she automates the full outbound sales cycle, but she will soon be able to automate the entire sales cycle, doing most things herself and acting as a co-pilot to the human when needed. Artisan plans to release 5 more Artisans next year. The company now has three full-time software engineers and is planning to expand their team to 30 people in the next 6 months. Artisan AI will take part in Y Combinators Winter 2024 batch starting in January. FinSMEs