Latest news with #Aceituno
Business Insider
10-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Check out the exclusive pitch deck that landed no-code AI agent startup StackAI a $16 million funding round from Lobby VC
The startup, StackAI, just raised a $16 million Series A funding round led by Lobby Capital. LifeX Ventures, Vercel CEO Guillermo Rauch, Weaviate CEO Bob Van, Gradient, startup accelerator Y Combinator, and Epakon Capital also participated in the round. Founded in 2022, San Francisco-based StackAI is a no-code platform for companies to develop AI agents that help with business functions. The startup's agents can interact with software such as Snowflake and Salesforce and be customized to complete back-office tasks like data entry, aggregating content, and categorizing information. StackAI was a member of YC's Winter 2023 batch and raised a $3 million seed funding round from Gradient, YC, Epakon Capital, Soma Capital, True Capital Ventures, and angel investors in April 2023. For cofounder Bernard Aceituno, one of the most surprising things about scaling StackAI has been the types of customers that have benefited most from the tech. "We found that sometimes the least technologically advanced companies — construction firms, local governments, and insurance — are the ones that gain the most value from AI agents," he told Business Insider. StackAI may be all about no- and low-code solutions, but Aceituno and his cofounder, Antoni Rosino, are coming at the problem from the opposite end of the spectrum. The pair met while earning their PhDs in computer science and artificial intelligence at MIT. They both graduated in 2022. Aceituno said that on StackAI's backend, the startup was leveraging AI itself to stay competitive as it grows, and as the tech evolves. "We heavily leverage AI for our development — Cursor and our own StackAI Agents to build 100-plus integrations and add new models as soon as they are announced," Aceituno said. AI agents are shaping up to be all the rage in Silicon Valley this year, with plenty of VCs showing a willingness to open their pocketbooks for startups that automate everything from sales calls, to data entry, to coding with AI. In the last month, Reco, which deployes AI cybersecurity agents, raised $25 million from Insight Partners; Artisan, which is replacing human employees with AI agents to complete repetitive tasks, raised $25 million from Glade Brook Capital; and Spur, which uses AI agents to debug websites, raised a $4.5 million seed round from First Round and Pear. Check out the 13-slide pitch deck StackAI used to raise its $13 million Series A funding round. StackAI pitch deck StackAI pitch deck
Business Insider
10-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Check out the exclusive pitch deck that landed no-code AI agent startup StackAI a $16 million funding round from Lobby VC
Agentic AI continues to be a bright spot for VC investing in 2025, and one startup in the space just landed a fresh round of funding to bring no-code agents into the workplace. The startup, StackAI, just raised a $16 million Series A funding round led by Lobby Capital. LifeX Ventures, Vercel CEO Guillermo Rauch, Weaviate CEO Bob Van, Gradient, startup accelerator Y Combinator, and Epakon Capital also participated in the round. Founded in 2022, San Francisco-based StackAI is a no-code platform for companies to develop AI agents that help with business functions. The startup's agents can interact with software such as Snowflake and Salesforce and be customized to complete back-office tasks like data entry, aggregating content, and categorizing information. StackAI was a member of YC's Winter 2023 batch and raised a $3 million seed funding round from Gradient, YC, Epakon Capital, Soma Capital, True Capital Ventures, and angel investors in April 2023. For cofounder Bernard Aceituno, one of the most surprising things about scaling StackAI has been the types of customers that have benefited most from the tech. "We found that sometimes the least technologically advanced companies — construction firms, local governments, and insurance — are the ones that gain the most value from AI agents," he told Business Insider. StackAI may be all about no- and low-code solutions, but Aceituno and his cofounder, Antoni Rosino, are coming at the problem from the opposite end of the spectrum. The pair met while earning their PhDs in computer science and artificial intelligence at MIT. They both graduated in 2022. Aceituno said that on StackAI's backend, the startup was leveraging AI itself to stay competitive as it grows, and as the tech evolves. "We heavily leverage AI for our development — Cursor and our own StackAI Agents to build 100-plus integrations and add new models as soon as they are announced," Aceituno said. AI agents are shaping up to be all the rage in Silicon Valley this year, with plenty of VCs showing a willingness to open their pocketbooks for startups that automate everything from sales calls, to data entry, to coding with AI. In the last month, Reco, which deployes AI cybersecurity agents, raised $25 million from Insight Partners; Artisan, which is replacing human employees with AI agents to complete repetitive tasks, raised $25 million from Glade Brook Capital; and Spur, which uses AI agents to debug websites, raised a $4.5 million seed round from First Round and Pear. Check out the 13-slide pitch deck StackAI used to raise its $13 million Series A funding round. StackAI StackAI StackAI StackAI StackAI StackAI StackAI StackAI StackAI StackAI StackAI StackAI
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Yahoo
FBI says elaborate scheme in RI was worth millions and spanned several states
It was 2021 and the market for precious metals was hot, drawing attention to catalytic converters on cars, trucks and SUVs. Catalytic converters render engine-exhaust pollutants into carbon dioxide and water vapor. The "catalyst" for the conversion itself, which happens through a chemical reaction, is a precious metal such as platinum, palladium or rhodium. The average scrap price for converters ranged from $300 to $1,500 for a period in 2020 and 2021, according to an FBI affidavit. The ease of stripping the parts from cars and SUVs, as well as the difficulty of tracing stolen converters back to vehicles they were removed from, was another incentive for lawbreakers. Filed in U.S. District Court, Providence, the 36-page affidavit accuses three men of participating in an elaborate conspiracy to rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars through the theft and sale of catalytic converters. "Thieves began to target vehicles for not only their rims and tires, but also for their catalytic converters," says the detail-rich FBI record. The affidavit also charts the role of a Providence-based company in the local trade for the converters – or "cats." Cranston police noticed the extensive and frequent catalytic converter theft in early 2022. Investigators identified a ring of thieves they believed was responsible for stealing more than 7,000 converters, estimated at a total value of more than $2.4 million, across New England, the FBI says. GPS data gathered by investigators shows that a particular rented Volkswagen Golf traveled from the location of one theft to another, six different locations altogether in Providence and Warwick in 2022, the FBI says. Also, the timing of the June 22 visits to the locations fell within the time frame of thefts, according to the affidavit. The GPS data also showed that the same Volkswagen had parked outside a Providence business, identified in the affidavit only as Company 1. That business is Accurate Converter, which purchases used auto parts. And a surveillance photo from inside the business shows one of the three men who now faces charges, 27-year-old Luis Aceituno, standing at a table alongside an array of converters, according to the affidavit. Aceituno is also standing next to an open garage door near the rear end of a gray Volkswagen Golf, which he got out of, the FBI says. Records kept at the business reflect the purchase of 12 converters and a payment of $4,675 at 3:05 p.m. on the afternoon of June 22. Aceituno is listed as the recipient of the payment, the FBI says. The sequence is one of several transactions presented in the affidavit, which also says Aceituno sold about 898 converters for $233,665 in 2022 and 1,230 converters for $466,070 in 2022. Investigators found that he sold 2128 catalytic converters to the unnamed Providence company and received a total of $699,735, the FBI says. Just days after the episode with the Volkswagen Golf in late June 2022, Gov. Dan McKee took action with help from the Rhode Island General Assembly that would merit reference in the affidavit compiled by FBI Special Agent Lise B. George. The new law required catalytic converter buyers to obtain either vehicle identification numbers or copies of registrations for the vehicles from which the converters were removed. It also mandated that buyers obtain a digital image of each seller's photo identification. In the meantime, the Cranston investigators realized that Aceituno and others were working extensively outside Rhode Island, Cranston's police chief, Col. Michael J. Winquist, recalled on April 29. "It became readily apparent that it was all throughout New England, and we needed to switch to federal jurisdiction," Winquist said. The FBI entered the probe in February 2023. A major focus for investigators early on was Accurate Converter, which is in a plaza off Branch Avenue adjacent to Interstate 95. While the company is not identified by name in the affidavit, the property where it had been operating is shown in pictures in the file. The business was also the site of a raid soon after the FBI entered the fray. Years before, the conspirators had come to know "Company 1" as an outfit that bought converters without scrutinizing the people who were selling them, the FBI says. The company's employees, the FBI says, had purchased the parts without requiring photo identification or requiring documentation regarding the particular vehicles that the converters had been removed from. This had changed by early 2023, and employees started to adhere to the new law, according to witnesses cited by the FBI. The catalytic converter thieves could not provide the necessary documentation for the stolen converters, the FBI says. In an email, the CEO of Accurate Converter, George Lucas, declined to comment on the situation, saying the company does not believe it would be appropriate "in light of the pending court case against the three defendants." In recent days, Aceituno and two other men accused in the conspiracy were charged in federal court. Aceituno faces counts of interstate transportation of stolen property in excess of $5,000, conspiracy to commit that same offense, and willfully subscribing to a false or fraudulent tax return, statement or other document. Aceituno was released on personal recognizance after he made his initial appearance. Another co-defendant was released to home detention with GPS monitoring, and a third defendant in the case has already been detained in an unrelated matter. Catalytic converter thefts once took place on a daily basis in Cranston, but now such thefts are a rare occurrence. Editor's note: This story has been updated to add additional information. This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: FBI investigation into catalytic converter thefts worth $2.4 million
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Yahoo
3 RI men charged in catalytic converter theft conspiracy
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Three Rhode Island men are facing federal charges for their alleged roles in stealing and selling thousands of dollars' worth of catalytic converters, according to acting U.S. Attorney Sara Miron Bloom. Charging documents allege that Kuron Mitchell, 25, of Newport; Alberto Rivera, 25, of Cranston; and Luis Aceituno, 27, of Providence, worked with others to target vehicles across Rhode Island and Massachusetts, then sold the stolen converters to a Providence-based recycling company. The men are accused of canvassing neighborhoods and parking lots from January 2021 to November 2022 to find empty cars from which they could steal catalytic converters. Depending on the type and model, the average scrap price ranges from $300 to $1,500, according to the affidavit. RELATED: Catalytic converter thefts skyrocket in RI as police and lawmakers try to crack down During this time, Rivera allegedly sold 19 converters, earning more than $7,000, while Aceituno sold 2,128 converters to the Providence company, receiving nearly $700,000. Aceituno is also accused of failing to report his earnings to the IRS for the 2021 and 2022 tax years, avoiding nearly $200,000 in taxes. All three men were charged in a federal criminal complaint with interstate transportation of stolen property in excess of $5,000 and conspiracy to commit the same. Additionally, Aceituno is charged with filing false tax returns. Aceituno appeared in court Monday and was released on unsecured bond. Mitchell appeared last April and was released to home detention with GPS monitoring. Rivera remains detained on unrelated charges. TARGET 12: What insurance policy covers a stolen catalytic converter? Download the and apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch or with the new . Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
