Ande, which has emerged from stealth mode, announced the raising of over $52 million in funding, combining seed and Series A rounds. Leaders of this round included Lightspeed Venture Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Duration Ventures, and Sierra Ventures; Bain Capital Ventures also participated in the financing.
The company's main goal is to service large enterprises' expenses for corporate events. These expenses include client dinners, team outings, sporting events, catering, and corporate gifts. Enterprises are estimated to spend around $325 billion annually on such activities.
Despite significant spending, the booking process remains fragmented across various systems. Ande solves this problem by integrating all these activities into a single corporate platform. Employees can book experiences while finance and legal departments maintain control over expenditures. The company spent two and a half years digitizing venue data.
The platform uses agent workflows to automate administrative tasks. These workflows can identify suitable venues, route requests for approval, and manage contracts. Furthermore, they support payments and expense reconciliation, significantly reducing manual work for teams managing corporate entertainment programs.
Ande provides a shared workspace for employees involved in corporate entertainment. Executive assistants and office managers can handle requests alongside marketing teams. Managers can also participate in approval processes through the same platform. Then, AI agents advance requests through stages of approval, signing, and payment.
Currently, the platform is used by over 60 enterprises. Among Ande's clients are Cloudflare, Salesforce, McGraw Hill, and Netskope. Other clients include Navan, Sigma Computing, Monday.com, Workato, and Semgrep. These clients account for over $400 million in annual entertainment spending through Ande, with clients reporting savings of 12% to 15%.
The platform also provides teams with better transparency regarding their entertainment programs. Ande's model addresses both sides of each transaction: companies gain procurement infrastructure, and venues gain access to corporate buyers. The company has also trained its AI model for enterprise-specific entertainment workflows.
Ande's network includes over 93,000 entertainment venues, and currently, more than 1,600 hotel properties are direct partners of the platform. Partners include Altamarea Group, Che Fico, and Gracious Hospitality. Other partners include JKS and The Mina Group. Tao Group Hospitality and Wolfgang Puck are also among its hospitality sector partners. Ande provides these companies access to corporate clients through a single distribution channel, as venues traditionally lacked specialized corporate sales networks.
Ande aims to fill this gap through its marketplace. The platform allows venues to offer their services to corporate buyers and interact with companies and manage transactions through the network. This forms a two-sided model for Ande.
Enterprises gain easier access to venues, and the hospitality industry gains corporate demand. Ande's new funding will be directed towards further developing its native AI platform, as well as expanding its network among corporate buyers and venues.
CEO Lohit Sarma emphasized that entertainment plays an important role in business relationships, highlighting its significance for culture, sales, and client interaction. Venture investors also see opportunities in this fragmented market.
Arif Janmohamed from Lightspeed Venture Partners described Ande as a bridge between companies and venues. Alex Bard, Managing Director at Redpoint Ventures, noted Sarma's experience in the enterprise space and the founder's ambition. Ande positions itself as the infrastructure for corporate entertainment, and its AI agents are designed to reduce the administrative burden across the entire booking process. The company's growth will depend on expanding both sides of its network.
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