Starhive raises $5 million pre-series A

April 8, 2025
Portfolio news

Starhive raises $5M led by Ventech to reduce costs and improve decision-making by harnessing‬ AI for data analytics and predictive simulations in asset and service management‬. The funding will accelerate the development of AI tools for businesses - reducing waste, improving resource planning,‬ and enhancing overall operational efficiency‬.

STOCKHOLM,‬‭ SWEDEN,‬‭ APRIL‬‭ 8‬‭ 2025‬‭ - Starhive‬‭ (‬‭www.starhive.com‬‭),‬‭ the‬‭ Swedish‬‭ startup‬‭ providing‬‭ flexible‬‭ IT‬ asset‬‭ and‬‭ service‬‭ management,‬‭ has‬‭ announced‬‭ a‬‭ $5‬‭ million‬‭ pre-Series‬‭ A‬‭ funding‬‭ round‬‭ led‬‭ by‬‭ the‬‭ pan-European venture‬‭ capital‬‭ firm‬‭ Ventech‬‭.‬‭ Existing‬‭ investor‬‭ node.vc‬‭ also‬‭ participated‬‭ in‬‭ the‬‭ round.‬‭ This‬‭ funding‬‭ comes‬‭ just‬‭ seven‬ months after the company’s seed round in September 2024 where the startup raised $3 million.‬

Many‬‭ organisations‬‭ struggle‬‭ to‬‭ track‬‭ IT‬‭ assets‬‭ like‬‭ laptops,‬‭ servers,‬‭ and‬‭ software‬‭ licenses,‬‭ often‬‭ relying‬‭ on‬‭ outdated‭ spreadsheets‬‭ or‬‭ rigid‬‭ systems.‬‭ Additionally,‬‭ IT‬‭ teams‬‭ must‬‭ handle‬‭ other‬‭ data‬‭ like‬‭ service‬‭ catalogues,‬‭ contracts,‬‭ vendors,‬ regulations‬‭ and‬‭ employees‬‭ which‬‭ are‬‭ often‬‭ scattered‬‭ and‬‭ not‬‭ centralised.‬‭ All‬‭ of‬‭ this‬‭ leads‬‭ to‬‭ unnecessary‬‭ spending,‬ underused‬‭ resources,‬‭ and‬‭ delayed‬‭ decision-making.‬‭ IT‬‭ support‬‭ and‬‭ maintenance‬‭ suffer‬‭ from‬‭ similar‬‭ inefficiencies,‬‭ with‬ teams working reactively rather than proactively.‬

Having‬‭ refined‬‭ its‬‭ no-code‬‭ app‬‭ builder,‬‭ designed‬‭ to‬‭ allow‬‭ IT‬‭ teams‬‭ to‬‭ build‬‭ bespoke‬‭ applications‬‭ for‬‭ their‬‭ businesses,‭ Starhive‬‭ has‬‭ since‬‭ focused‬‭ its‬‭ offering‬‭ to‬‭ encompass‬‭ a‬‭ full‬‭ suite‬‭ of‬‭ tools‬‭ for‬‭ asset‬‭ and‬‭ service‬‭ management‬‭ to‬‭ help‬‭ solve‭ these‬‭ ongoing‬‭ issues‬‭ faced‬‭ by‬‭ businesses.‬‭ The‬‭ company‬‭ will‬‭ use‬‭ the‬‭ capital‬‭ injection‬‭ to‬‭ integrate‬‭ different‬‭ AI‬‭ capabilities,‭ including‬‭ conversational‬‭ AI,‬‭ into‬‭ IT‬‭ asset‬‭ and‬‭ service‬‭ management,‬‭ allowing‬‭ teams‬‭ to‬‭ analyse‬‭ and‬‭ interact‬‭ with‬‭ vast‬ amounts‬‭ of‬‭ data‬‭ in‬‭ real-time.‬‭ This‬‭ will‬‭ help‬‭ businesses‬‭ in‬‭ simulating‬‭ future‬‭ scenarios,‬‭ reallocating‬‭ underused‬‭ assets,‬‭ and‬ ensuring software licenses are used efficiently, helping businesses cut costs and optimise resources.‬

Ventech’s‬‭ Joel‬‭ Uddén‬‭ will‬‭ also‬‭ be‬‭ joining‬‭ the‬‭ Starhive‬‭ board,‬‭ bringing‬‭ a‬‭ wealth‬‭ of‬‭ experience‬‭ as‬‭ an‬‭ investor‬‭ and‬‭ off‬‭ the‭ back of two successful exits in SaaS as an entrepreneur.‭

Starhive’s‬‭ co-founders‬‭ Tommy‬‭ Nordahl‬‭ and‬‭ Mathias‬‭ Edblom‬‭ bring‬‭ 40+ years‬‭ of‬‭ combined‬‭ industry‬‭ experience,‬‭ having‭ also‬‭ co-founded‬‭ Mindville‬‭ in‬‭ 2012,‬‭ an‬‭ IT‬‭ asset‬‭ and‬‭ configuration‬‭ management‬‭ company‬‭ that‬‭ was‬‭ acquired‬‭ by‬‭ Atlassian‭ (‬‭www.atlassian.com‬‭) in 2020. Starhive’s current team‬‭ of 17 includes 9 former employees from Mindville.‬

Unlike‬‭ existing‬‭ solutions‬‭ that‬‭ focus‬‭ AI‬‭ solely‬‭ on‬‭ service‬‭ management,‬‭ Starhive’s‬‭ approach‬‭ applies‬‭ AI‬‭ directly‬‭ to‬‭ asset‬ management,‬‭ addressing‬‭ a‬‭ critical‬‭ gap‬‭ in‬‭ the‬‭ industry.‬‭ Instead‬‭ of‬‭ manually‬‭ analysing‬‭ data,‬‭ IT‬‭ staff‬‭ can‬‭ simply‬‭ ask‬‭ AI‭ for‬‭ recommendations,‬‭ making‬‭ decision-making‬‭ faster‬‭ and‬‭ more‬‭ efficient‬‭ .‬‭ For‬‭ example,‬‭ users‬‭ can‬‭ request‬‭ alerts‬‭ when‬‭ warranties‬‭ are‬‭ due‬‭ to‬‭ expire‬‭ or‬‭ other‬‭ critical‬‭ conditions‬‭ are‬‭ met‬‭ in‬‭ order‬‭ to‬‭ get‬‭ ahead‬‭ of‬‭ potential‬‭ problems.‬‭ The‬‭ result‬‭ is‬‭ a‬‭ shift‬‭ from‬‭ reactive‬‭ to‬‭ predictive‬‭ management,‬‭ reducing‬‭ waste,‬‭ improving‬‭ resource‬‭ planning,‬‭ and‬‭ enhancing overall operational efficiency‬‭.‬

Starhive‬‭ continues‬‭ to‬‭ offer‬‭ a‬‭ no-code‬‭ app‬‭ builder‬‭ allowing‬‭ users‬‭ to‬‭ create‬‭ apps‬‭ that‬‭ meet‬‭ their‬‭ precise,‬‭ unique‬‭ needs.‬ This‬‭ includes‬‭ anything‬‭ from‬‭ creating‬‭ apps‬‭ to‬‭ request‬‭ assets‬‭ or‬‭ approve‬‭ changes‬‭ to‬‭ IT‬‭ infrastructure,‬‭ to‬‭ an‬‭ onboarding‬‭ app for new employees.

Starhive‬‭ CEO‬‭ &‬‭ Founder‬‭ Tommy‬‭ Nordhal‬‭ adds:‬ "IT‬‭ teams‬‭ of ten‬‭ rely‬‭ on‬‭ manual‬‭ processes‬‭ or‬‭ rigid‬‭ off-the-shelf‬ software‬‭ that‬‭ fails‬‭ to‬‭ adapt‬‭ to‬‭ their‬‭ specific‬‭ needs,‬‭ leading‬‭ to‬‭ inefficiencies‬‭ and‬‭ unnecessary‬‭ costs.‬‭ By‬‭ integrating‬‭ AI‬‭ into‬ asset‬‭ and‬‭ service‬‭ management,‬‭ Starhive‬‭ provides‬‭ a‬‭ seamless,‬‭ intelligent‬‭ solution‬‭ that‬‭ combines‬‭ the‬‭ simplicity‬‭ of‬‭ ready-made‬‭ software‬‭ with‬‭ the‬‭ adaptability‬‭ of‬‭ a‬‭ custom-built‬‭ system.‬‭ This‬‭ investment‬‭ will‬‭ accelerate‬‭ the‬‭ development‬‭ of‬‭ our AI-driven capabilities, making IT operations more efficient and accessible to businesses world wide.”
‭Ventech‬‭ VC’s‬‭ Joel‬‭ Uddén‬‭ says:‬‭ “Starhive‬‭ is‬‭ addressing‬‭ a‬‭ significant‬‭ gap‬‭ in‬‭ the‬‭ IT‬‭ management‬‭ space‬‭ by‬‭ bringing‬‭ AI‬‭ to‬ asset‬‭ management,‬‭ an‬‭ area‬‭ that‬‭ has‬‭ remained‬‭ largely‬‭ manual‬‭ and‬‭ inefficient .‬‭ The‬‭ ability‬‭ to‬‭ predict‬‭ asset‬‭ needs,‬‭ optimise‬ allocation,‬‭ and‬‭ reduce‬‭ costs‬‭ through‬‭ AI-driven‬‭ insights‬‭ gives‬‭ Starhive‬‭ a‬‭ clear‬‭ competitive‬‭ advantage.‬‭ With‬‭ businesses‬‭ increasingly‬‭ looking‬‭ for‬‭ smarter,‬‭ more‬‭ adaptable‬‭ IT‬‭ solutions,‬‭ Starhive‬‭ is‬‭ well-positioned‬‭ to‬‭ scale‬‭ rapidly‬‭ in‬‭ a‬‭ market‬‭ that‬‭ is‬‭ ripe‬‭ for‬‭ innovation.‬‭ This‬‭ investment‬‭ is‬‭ an‬‭ opportunity‬‭ to‬‭ be‬‭ part‬‭ of‬‭ the‬‭ future‬‭ of‬‭ AI-driven‬‭ enterprise‬‭ efficiency.‬‭ At‬‭ Ventech,‬‭ we‬‭ are‬‭ thrilled‬‭ to‬‭ back‬‭ experienced‬‭ and‬‭ visionary‬‭ serial‬‭ entrepreneurs‬‭ like‬‭ Tommy‬‭ and‬‭ Mathias,‬‭ and‬‭ support‬‭ them in their go-to-market strategies thanks to our global presence.”

ABOUT STARHIVE‬

Founded‬‭ in‬‭ 2022‬‭ in‬‭ Stockholm,‬‭ Starhive‬‭ is‬‭ an‬‭ innovative‬‭ IT‬‭ asset‬‭ and‬‭ service‬‭ management‬‭ platform‬‭ that‬‭ leverages‬‭ AI‬‭ to‬‭ transform‬‭ the‬‭ way‬‭ businesses‬‭ manage‬‭ their‬‭ IT‬‭ resources.‬‭ With‬‭ a‬‭ growing‬‭ team‬‭ of‬‭ 17‬‭ employees,‬‭ Starhive‬‭ combines‬‭ predictive‬‭ analytics‬‭ with‬‭ AI-driven‬‭ insights‬‭ to‬‭ help‬‭ IT‬‭ teams‬‭ optimise‬‭ asset‬‭ allocation,‬‭ reduce‬‭ costs,‬‭ and‬‭ streamline‬‭ workflows.‬‭ Designed‬‭ for‬‭ modern‬‭ enterprises,‬‭ the‬‭ platform‬‭ offers‬‭ a‬‭ no-code‬‭ solution‬‭ that‬‭ empowers‬‭ organisations‬‭ to‬‭ customise‬‭ their‬‭ IT‬‭ management‬‭ processes.‬‭ By‬‭ shifting‬‭ from‬‭ reactive‬‭ to‬‭ proactive‬‭ management,‬‭ Starhive‬‭ is‬‭ redefining‬‭ asset management for the digital age.‬

‭ABOUT VENTECH‬

‭Ventech‬‭ is‬‭ a‬‭ well-established‬‭ early-stage‬‭ venture‬‭ capital‬‭ firm‬‭ in‬‭ both‬‭ Europe‬‭ and‬‭ Asia‬‭ with‬‭ a‬‭ strong‬‭ digital‬‭ focus.‬‭ Founded‬ in‬‭ 1998,‬‭ Ventech‬‭ backs‬‭ the‬‭ most‬‭ innovative‬‭ and‬‭ visionary‬‭ tech‬‭ entrepreneurs‬‭ in‬‭ diverse‬‭ sectors‬‭ with‬‭ a‬‭ global‬‭ ambition.‬‭ With‬‭ its‬‭ dual‬‭ structure‬‭ platform,‬‭ Ventech‬‭ has‬‭ dedicated‬‭ funds‬‭ for‬‭ Europe‬‭ (Paris,‬‭ Munich,‬‭ Berlin,‬‭ Helsinki‬‭ &‬‭ Stockholm)‬‭ and‬‭ Asia‬‭ (Shanghai‬‭ and‬‭ Hong‬‭ Kong).‬‭ Since‬‭ its‬‭ inception,‬‭ Ventech‬‭ has‬‭ raised‬‭ nearly‬‭ 1B€‬‭ and‬‭ has‬‭ realized‬‭ over‬‭ 320‬‭ investments,‬‭ (including‬‭ Vestiaire‬‭ Collective,‬‭ Prewave,‬‭ Ogury,‬‭ The‬‭ Customization‬‭ Group,‬‭ Veo‬‭ Technologies,‬‭ Reveal,‬‭ Speexx)‬‭ and‬‭ over‬‭ 180‬‭ exits‬‭. For more information, visit‬‭ www.ventechvc.com‬

‬For further information visit:‬‭ www.starhive.com‬