Voi founders raise $16M from a16z for new AI startup Pit, aiming to automate enterprise back offices

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Voi founders raise $16M from a16z for new AI startup Pit, aiming to automate enterprise back offices

Stockholm has produced another artificial intelligence startup worth watching. Pit, founded by the co-founders of European scooter giant Voi, has secured a $16 million seed round led by prominent venture capital firm a16z. The company is building an AI-powered platform designed to automate internal business processes for large enterprises, positioning itself as an “AI product team as a service.”

From scooters to software agents

Pit is led by CEO Adam Jafer, who spent seven years at Voi, helping scale the company to nearly 1,000 employees across 13 countries. He is joined by Voi CEO Fredrik Hjelm, who remains at the helm of Voi but is listed as a Pit co-founder, and Filip Lindvall, another Voi co-founder who serves as a founding engineer at Pit. The engineering team also includes former iZettle and Klarna engineers, as well as Andreas Hjelm, Fredrik Hjelm’s brother.

Jafer told Bitcoin World that his vision for Pit emerged from watching AI models evolve from simple chatbots into agentic systems capable of executing tasks. “The aha moment for the bigger opportunity was when the models were no longer just chatbots that generate text, but became more agentic and could do things,” he said. Initially, he saw an opportunity to replace low-hanging SaaS tools with custom in-house apps, but quickly recognized a broader market need.

How Pit differentiates in a crowded market

The startup enters a competitive space filled with AI agent-building platforms and vibe-coding tools. Pit aims to stand out with a two-part product offering: Pit Studio, which allows enterprise employees to guide the system through processes that could be automated; and Pit Cloud, which delivers the resulting software with enterprise-grade governance, certifications, and auditability.

Pit began pilot testing in mid-January with customers in telecom, healthcare, and logistics, focusing exclusively on internal processes. “Nothing customer facing, no conversational AI, just pure back-office, service and support functions that we turn into automations so that you can give back time to people to focus on your core business,” Jafer said.

Enterprise sales and European advantage

Pit is hiring solution engineers — a trend among AI companies deploying forward-deployed engineers (FDEs) to drive enterprise adoption. Jafer emphasized that large customers are “looking to buy outcomes. They want processes to go faster.” He also noted that Pit is not positioning itself as a job-cutting tool, but rather as a way to move employees “upstream to do more valuable things for the business.”

The startup’s European DNA could also prove advantageous. “We’re going after industrials, and there’s plenty of that in Europe,” Jafer said. He added that clients appreciate Pit’s agnostic approach to AI and cloud vendors, which allows it to align with sovereign tech preferences. “EU models running on EU compute is top of mind for almost every CIO we’re meeting,” he said.

Controversy and team composition

Pit has not been without controversy. Jafer posted on LinkedIn in recent months that “agents now do most of what junior engineers used to do,” a statement he has since softened. “It may have started like that, but you need a good mix as you scale,” he said with a smile. Fredrik Hjelm also addressed the all-male appearance of the founding team on X, writing that while the company was “founded by tech bros, from Voi and Klarna,” it now includes women on the team. Bitcoin World confirmed that Pit employs at least one woman in a communications role.

a16z’s bet on Stockholm

The $16 million seed round was led by a16z, with participation from Lakestar, Pit’s founders, and Nordic family offices. Hjelm explained that the relationship with a16z began years ago when partners visited Stockholm to explore European tech opportunities. “We didn’t need the money to get going, but we wanted the strongest backers we could find,” he said. The round closed quickly, with Jafer confirming that Pit spent little time shopping the deal to other firms.

Stockholm has emerged as one of Europe’s most active startup hubs, home to other AI successes like Lovable. a16z has been actively scouting the region for the next European unicorn, and Pit fits that profile.

Conclusion

Pit enters a competitive market with a clear focus on automating internal enterprise processes, a strong founding team from Voi, and backing from a top-tier venture firm. Its success will depend on execution, differentiation, and its ability to meet the demanding governance and security requirements of large enterprise clients. For now, it is another sign that Stockholm’s AI ecosystem is maturing rapidly.

FAQs

Q1: What does Pit’s AI platform actually do?
Pit builds custom software that automates internal business processes like back-office tasks, service and support functions, using AI agents that learn from the client’s operations.

Q2: Who are the founders of Pit?
Pit was founded by Fredrik Hjelm (CEO of Voi), Adam Jafer (former Voi executive), and Filip Lindvall (Voi co-founder). The engineering team includes former iZettle and Klarna engineers.

Q3: How much funding has Pit raised and from whom?
Pit raised a $16 million seed round led by a16z, with participation from Lakestar, the founders, and Nordic family offices.

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