Taito.ai has secured €2.5 million in seed funding, led by Accel, to transform employee performance management using AI. The round also attracted prominent angel investors, including Eléonore Crespo, (Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Pigment), Robert Gentz (Co-founder and Co-CEO of Zalando), Miki Kuusi (Founder and CEO of Wolt) and Ilkka Paananen (Co-Founder and CEO of Supercell).
Founded by former Smartly.io executives, Taito.ai addresses inefficiencies in traditional HR tools, offering a platform that automates continuous feedback, goal setting, and performance reviews. The AI-powered system integrates with tools like Slack, Google Calendar, and Jira, streamlining workflows while fostering employee development.
Kristo Ovaska, CEO of Taito.ai said: “With Taito.ai, we’re driving a fundamental shift in how organisations think about people’s growth and performance. Taito.ai’s platform is one we wish we’d had at Smartly.io – a scalable, AI-powered solution that enables continuous feedback and coaching. We interviewed over 100 customers and everyone had exactly similar pains that we had at Smartly.io. Everyone wanted to move to continuous performance enablement powered by AI instead of manual annual reviews. Taito.ai’s automation empowers managers and employees to take ownership of their own growth and performance and freeing everyone up to focus on what matters the most: growing and moving forward. This investment allows us to take that vision to the next level.”
Sonali De Rycker, Partner at Accel, said: “Taito is re-inventing performance software with seamless integrations that adapt to how employees work, not the other way around. With a stunning interface and practical functionality, the platform empowers teams where traditional tools have failed. We know from our portfolio companies’ experiences how challenging legacy performance management tools can be and there’s a clear need for Taito’s technology. We were inspired by Kristo’s strong track record of building enduring, valuable businesses and his motivation to change the status quo given his first-hand experience in leading large teams.“
The company, already in a closed beta phase with clients like Faculty and Supermetrics, plans a public launch in 2025 to meet rising demand for modern HR solutions.
