Bites raises $40M Series A to expand AI training platform for frontline workers

Bites provides personalized training for frontline employees who may not work at a desk. Its platform turns company procedures and source materials into short, branded videos, then delivers them through familiar channels including WhatsApp, SMS, Microsoft Teams and Slack.

The Tel Aviv-founded company has raised $40 million in Series A funding led by PeakSpan Capital, bringing total funding to $55 million. Vertex Ventures, Horizon Capital, Rittenhouse Ventures and Lyra Ventures also participated, while PeakSpan partners Phil Dur and Charlie Reinkemeyer will join Bites’ board.

Founded in 2020 by Eran Heffetz, Tal Nagler Almog and Hagai Horovitz, Bites serves customers including Unilever, Coca-Cola, Shake Shack, Wynn Resorts and Compass Group. Its AI Studio creates training content from materials such as standard operating procedures, with lessons available in more than 150 languages and without requiring a separate employee app.

Bites will use the funding to expand in the United States, develop its platform and hire across sales and customer success. It also plans to build partner and reseller channels and enter banking, insurance and businesses that depend on external workers, alongside its existing customer base in hospitality, retail, consumer goods and manufacturing. The company has 30 employees across its Tel Aviv development center and New York headquarters.

Interested in this company?

London-based Easol provides experience businesses with one system for bookings, payments, marketing, customer support, and guest data. Its platform brings these operational and customer-facing functions together, giving operators a connected way to manage the experience journey. The company has raised €26.78 million in a Series A round. The financing includes €17.85 million in equity led by Y Combinator, alongside an €8.92 million debt facility from Viola Credit. Tiger Global, Foundation Capital, FMZ Ventures, Notion Capital, and Eight Roads also participated in the round. Easol was founded by Ben Simpson and Lisa Simpson, and operates from offices in London, New York, and Los Angeles. The funding supported the development and launch of Teammates, Easol’s agentic AI tools for sales, support, and operations. Built natively inside the platform, the tools extend Easol’s existing workflow across the functions experience businesses use to attract customers, answer requests, and run day-to-day operations.

PaperFoam manufactures biodegradable packaging made from starch and natural fibres, offering an alternative to conventional plastic and paper products. The Barneveld, Netherlands-based company develops packaging solutions for customers seeking materials with a lower environmental impact. The company has secured a €2 million loan from Invest International. The financing will support go-to-market activity and product development as PaperFoam expands its manufacturing footprint and serves additional markets and clients. PaperFoam was founded in 1998 by Vertis Holding and is led by Willem Derkman. Its production facilities are located in the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, the United States, and Malaysia. Nissha Co. Ltd. owns 30% of PaperFoam Holding b.v., while Sustainable Pioneers Holding b.v. owns the remaining 70%. The funding will help expand PaperFoam’s production facility in the Czech Republic and increase overall production capacity. It will also strengthen working capital for the company’s Malaysian and U.S. plants, giving those operations additional support as PaperFoam takes on new markets and clients.

San Francisco-based Mintive provides infrastructure that gives AI agents governed access to enterprise tools, systems, and data. Its platform helps IT and security teams manage agent identity, permissions, security, and observability as companies deploy more software-based coworkers. Mintive has raised $7 million in a round led by Cowboy Ventures, bringing its total funding to $11 million. Coatue, Operator Collective, Burst Capital, Maven Ventures, and Hustle Fund also participated, alongside individual investors including Frederic Kerrest, Michael Grinich, Scott Belsky, Jeff Dean, and Andrej Karpathy. The company says its platform now supports 2.5 million agent calls each day across more than 50 paying enterprise customers. That usage underscores the operational challenge of controlling what AI agents can access and do across business systems. Mintive was founded by Jiquan Ngiam, Vijay Vasudevan, Bo Zhi See, and Phillip Bensaid. It will use the funding to scale its infrastructure platform, expand agent identity and governance capabilities, strengthen security and observability, and develop coworker agents as enterprise adoption grows.

London-based Ares Intelligence is building an evidence-based platform to help businesses plan AI adoption. Its system uses AI-led employee interviews to gather workforce insights and turn them into prioritised roadmaps for applying AI across an organisation. The startup has raised €2.6 million in pre-seed funding, backed by Creandum and Lakestar, with participation from angels connected to Google DeepMind. The round gives Ares Intelligence early capital to develop its platform and grow its commercial reach. Founded in 2026 by Matt Falconer and Alfie Ranstead, the company is targeting enterprises that need a clearer view of where AI can deliver value and how adoption should progress. Its approach starts with employee input, linking internal perspectives to practical adoption planning rather than relying only on high-level strategy. Ares Intelligence will use the funding to expand its team and operations, strengthen product development, and attract more enterprise customers. It also plans to scale adoption of its AI-powered workforce intelligence platform across Europe and the United States.

San Francisco-based Wabi is building an AI assistant for coordinating plans, managing everyday life, and creating shared experiences. Its product combines an AI agent with personalized mini-apps, multiplayer collaboration, and shared spaces, bringing individual and group activities into one environment. Founded by Eugenia Kuyda, the creator of Replika, Wabi has raised $55 million in Series A funding at a $1.25 billion valuation. The round was led by IVP, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Forerunner, the Amazon Alexa Fund, Tobi Lütke, Marc Benioff, Marissa Mayer, Dick Costolo, and Alex Pall. Wabi’s approach extends the role of a personal assistant beyond one-to-one interactions. Its shared spaces and collaborative features are intended to help people use AI while planning and participating in activities together, rather than treating the assistant as an individual utility בלבד. The new funding will support continued product development and expansion. Wabi also plans to direct capital toward go-to-market efforts and hiring as it develops the product and broadens its reach.

Amsterdam-based FLTRD has developed a foodtech app that helps shoppers identify ultra-processed supermarket products and discover healthier alternatives. Users scan products to view the company’s science-based PureScore, giving them a simpler way to compare everyday food choices. The startup has raised €500K in pre-seed funding led by 4impact capital. Jeroen Lubbers and several angel investors from the fast-moving consumer goods industry also participated in the round. FLTRD was founded by Anke Kuik and Laurens Janssen. FLTRD’s app covers more than 150,000 products across seven supermarkets and is used by more than 35,000 people in the Netherlands on iPhone and Android. Its product database and scoring system are intended to make information about food processing easier to access at the point of purchase. The company will use the funding for go-to-market activities and hiring, bringing in additional people to support growth. It also plans to expand into Belgium and license its PureScore technology to food producers and retailers, extending the platform beyond its consumer app.