Askel.ai

High-Level Overview

Askel.ai is an Estonia-based SaaS startup founded in 2024 that builds an embeddable AI-powered automation platform for SaaS companies, enabling no-code workflow creation using natural language to automate repetitive tasks.[1][2][4] It serves SaaS product teams, CTOs, product owners, and implementation teams—particularly in staffing, RevOps, and hypergrowth companies—solving the problem of engineering overhead, fragmented third-party tools, and excluding non-technical users from automation by integrating directly with existing APIs via OpenAPI/Swagger specs.[1][2][4][5] Early pilots show up to 10x faster task completion and 90% time reductions, with €380K pre-seed funding raised to scale this embeddable solution that frees engineers and boosts user satisfaction.[2][3][4]

Origin Story

Askel.ai was founded in 2024 in Tallinn/Harku, Estonia, by Joosep Kõljalg (former Twilio engineering director), Kristofer Kurvits, and Tim Jaanson, drawing from their experiences scaling integrations and back-office operations at hypergrowth firms like Twilio.[2][3][4] The idea emerged from frustrations with inefficient automation that hindered scaling—Kõljalg noted how back-office bottlenecks at Twilio created complexity rather than relief, inspiring an embeddable platform using plain English for workflows.[2][3][4] They quickly secured €380K pre-seed funding led by Superangel, with angels like ProcessOut co-founder Manuel Huez, former Checkout.com CTO Ott Kaukver, Veriff co-founder Janer Gorohhov, Matrix partner Patrick Malatack, and later Job&Talent co-founders Felipe Navio and Juan Urdiales; early pilots validated 10x efficiency gains, fueling launch momentum.[2][3][4]

Core Differentiators

• Natural Language to Executable Workflows: AI engine translates plain English intents into API-driven automations with planning, execution, guardrails, dry-runs, and drift detection—reducing task times up to 10x without coding.[1][2][3][5]
• Embeddable and API-Native Integration: Seamlessly connects to any API (HubSpot, Jira, custom via OpenAPI), role-based access, least-privilege tokens, human-in-loop approvals, and auditable logs for secure, in-product embedding.[1][4][5]
• Non-Technical Empowerment: Targets implementation/RevOps teams for self-serve setup in under a week; handles staffing tasks like shift scheduling, onboarding, timesheets, Excel management, and unstructured data without extra hires.[1][5][6]
• Adaptability and Scalability: Auto-maps customer schemas, detects drift (new fields/permissions), patches safely; grows with business needs, outperforming clunky third-party tools by embedding where work happens.[4][5][6]

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Askel.ai rides the AI agent and no-code automation wave, capitalizing on maturing AI to make integrations autonomous and accessible beyond engineers—aligning with Estonia's top-tier AI ecosystem (2nd globally in AI startups per capita) and its 2019 strategy to AI-automate 50% of public services by 2025.[2] Timing is ideal amid market forces like BCG-reported 1.5x revenue growth for AI-advanced firms and surging demand for embedded automation in SaaS, where custom builds waste cycles on repetitive tasks.[2] It influences the ecosystem by reducing engineering burdens, enabling non-technical scaling (e.g., staffing/RevOps), and fostering AI-native orchestration that could standardize self-serve ops across hypergrowth SaaS.[3][4][5]

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Askel.ai is poised to expand from pilots to broader SaaS adoption, leveraging its €380K war chest for AI agent enhancements like full autonomy in integrations and multi-tool orchestration.[2][3][4] Trends like proliferating APIs, AI maturity, and no-code proliferation will accelerate its growth, potentially capturing share in a market hungry for 10x efficiency without tool sprawl. Its influence may evolve to redefine RevOps/staffing workflows globally, turning Askel.ai from embeddable helper to indispensable AI layer—empowering the next wave of scalable SaaS where automation embeds natively, just as its founders envisioned from Twilio-scale pains.[3][4][5]