Trigo co-founder Michael Gabay's new AI powered startup Gain emerges from stealth, bags seed funding

Gain, a startup providing AI employees for hire, has emerged from stealth, announcing a $12 million seed funding round led by The Garage. Other investors include BlueRed Partners and Bazan Group.

Gain, which was previously known as Velon and was launched by Michael Gabay, who co-founded and was President at autonomous stores specialist Trigo, has created an autonomous workforce layer that manages end-to-end procurement and operational workflows - from category and merchandising strategy, sourcing and negotiations to contract execution, transaction processing and exception management, all integrated with ERP, productivity, collaboration and procurement technologies.

“We’ve gained unique experience supporting customer and vendor facing agentic solutions that drive revenue, and we see Gain as a key standout in this space,” says Eyal Radler, Managing Partner at The Garage.

“Alongside its groundbreaking R&D work, Gain is disrupting the traditional SaaS pay-per-seat model with its pay-per-outcome approach to encourage early adoption. The team has a unique advantage in its unparalleled access to customers, which today is often the most significant moat.”

“In addition, they are creating proprietary data sets that further strengthen their position and build a durable long-term edge. We’re very excited to be working with the team and look forward to ushering in our new AI workforce.”

Yishai Klein, Managing Partner at Singapore-based BlueRed Partners, says: “Gain provides a disruptive and visionary solution for tackling the complex procurement environment and processes across multiple industries and markets. They boast an extremely impressive and proven leadership team.  We’re thrilled to be supporting the team from the outset, and we look forward to helping them penetrate the Asia-Pacific region.”

“For large and complex energy organisations like ours, the ability to optimise long-tail spend represents a significant opportunity to reduce costs across a wide range of procurement activities,” says Netta Benari, Head of Business Development & Innovation at Bazan Group.

“Gain has identified a compelling use case for AI in procurement and demonstrated the technical expertise to deliver it. As both a partner in this pilot and a strategic investor, we look forward to deepening our collaboration with Gain on multiple fronts.”

Israeli brewer, Tempo Beer Industries, is another company piloting the technology. 

Tempo’s CEO Daniel Beer says: “We have been at the forefront in automation and robotics for years, driving innovation across industries and operations. Joining forces with Gain to pioneer the adoption of AI Employees in procurement is a natural next step in leading the next wave of change.”

“The concept of an ‘AI employee’ managing the entire process from start to finish is particularly well-suited to our needs. We are undergoing testing with Natalie and Bob, and it’s fascinating to see how AI employees become part of the team.”

Gabay comments: “After a decade working with leading grocers and CPGs, I saw the big challenges in sourcing and procurement. Basic automation can’t handle the uncertainty and complexity of this field, so we built a team with deep expertise in AI, Big Data, procurement, and cybersecurity to create AI employees that outperform even 20-year veterans.”

“Our AI employees don’t replace jobs - they support teams by tackling work that otherwise goes undone and delivering real value. Pilot feedback has been very strong, and we’re excited to expand deployments.”

The seed investment will support the next phase of R&D efforts, including the launch of Gain’s next upcoming AI employees, and expansion of the product teams, as well as business growth across the United States and Europe.

2025 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

AI will be a key focus area at the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards. which are now closed for entries with our finalists and shortlists being announced last week, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our 2024 hall of fame entrants were revealed during an event which took place at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London on 21st November, and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by comedian Lucy Porter

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “The event is now into its sixth year and what a journey it has been. The awards started life as an online only affair during the Covid outbreak, before launching as a small scale in real life event and growing year on year to the point where we’re now selling out this fine, historic venue.”

He added: “Congratulations to all of our finalists. Many submissions did not make it through to the final stage, and getting to this point is no mean feat. Checkout-free stores, automated supply chains, immersive experiences, on-demand delivery, next generation loyalty offerings, inclusive retail, green technology. We’ve got all the cool stuff covered this evening.”

“But just importantly we’ve got lots of great examples of companies taking innovative tech and making it usable in everyday operations - resulting in more efficiency and profitability in all areas.”

Congratulations to our 2024 winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Lucy Porter, and all those who attended November's gathering. 

For further information on the 2025 RTIH Innovation Awards, please fill in the below form and we will get back to you asap.