Veteran Founders Bet Speed and Customization Will Beat Big Tech

[lingriiddd]

Despite fierce competition from major players like Google and Microsoft, Kana’s founders believe agility is their competitive moat. Rather than offering rigid “build or buy” solutions, they advocate a “build with” model — tailoring AI agents to customer needs in ways large incumbents may struggle to match due to scale and bureaucracy.

With fresh capital in hand, Kana plans to expand hiring across engineering, product, and go-to-market teams. Navin Chaddha, managing partner at Mayfield, is joining the board as the company ramps up growth. As AI reshapes marketing at every level, Kana is betting that deep industry roots combined with adaptable agent-based systems can carve out space in an increasingly automated landscape.

[cryptobro]

big tech has distribution, but startups win on speed. classic playbook if they execute well.

[The_Walking_Dead]

Agility beats scale when markets move fast.

[Capybara_Capybara]

“Build with” is a smart positioning vs big tech.

[bred]

Vertical specialization could be their real edge.