Pie Tech raises $19.5M to replace agency marketing for small shops
Pie Tech Inc. came out of stealth with a $19.5 million funding round and a direct pitch at local business owners who are sick of paying marketing agencies $2,500 to $5,000 a month for slow results.
Three Tools, One Stack
Pie now sells three products built to cover the full customer acquisition loop for local merchants.
- AI Search: Works to get the merchant mentioned inside ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity when customers ask relevant questions.
- Growth: Runs ad campaigns on Google Maps, Yelp, and Nextdoor.
- Front Desk: Answers calls around the clock, books reservations, and handles customer questions. Launched today alongside the funding announcement.
Who Built It and Why
Founders Syed Ali and Akhil Mantripragada both built products at Square and Toast before starting Pie. The problem they kept hearing from owners: plenty of software, not enough new customers. Their answer is a platform small shops can actually afford, positioned against agency contracts that lock merchants in and deliver opaque results.
“Small business owners have been stuck with expensive, opaque agency models for decades. Every owner I talked to said some version of the same thing: ‘I need more customers, and I can’t afford an agency.'” — CEO Syed Ali
Traction and Distribution
Pie says it picked up thousands of customers before today’s official launch, mostly through word of mouth after shipping its first product late last year. The company reports more than 100,000 calls routed through its platform and claims customers typically see sales grow 15% to 20% year over year.
Beyond direct sales, Pie is embedding its tools inside other software platforms to reach specific verticals including auto repair, pet care, fitness, and beauty. Tekmetric, an auto repair shop management platform with more than 15,000 shops on its books, is one of the named distribution partners.
The Round
Lightspeed Venture Partners led the $19.5 million raise. Capital One Ventures, Max Levchin’s SciFi VC, F-Prime Capital, Commerce Ventures, and WEX Venture Capital also participated. Total funding now stands at $23.7 million.
The operator implication: if you serve local businesses as a software platform or agency, Pie is building the distribution layer that could eventually sit underneath your stack or compete with your margin.
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