By: Jake Smiths
Artificial intelligence has fundamentally changed how software is created. Developers can build products faster than ever, launch them to global audiences, and iterate at a pace that would have been difficult only a few years ago. But as AI companies move beyond launching products, many are encountering a different challenge: creating business models that can keep up with the cost of delivering increasingly sophisticated AI experiences.
Velocity believes that challenge will define the next stage of the market. The startup has raised $27 million in seed funding, led by NFX and Red Dot Capital Partners, with participation from Stardom Ventures, Corner Ventures, and Transcend, to build monetization and distribution infrastructure for AI-native software.
Founded by Tal Shoham, Amir Shaked, and Nimrod Zuta, the company brings together founders who previously helped build advertising and monetization platforms at ironSource and Unity. Rather than competing in the crowded AI application market, they are positioning Velocity as infrastructure for the companies already building those products.
The Business Problem Emerging Across AI
Generative AI has accelerated software development while simultaneously introducing higher operating costs. As models become more capable, inference expenses continue to grow, even as many AI companies depend on business models where only a fraction of users convert to paid subscriptions.
That imbalance has led many developers to tighten access through usage limits, feature restrictions, and subscription barriers. While those approaches can help offset costs, Velocity argues they may also reduce user engagement before customers fully understand a product’s value.
The company believes developers need additional ways to monetize AI experiences without relying exclusively on subscriptions. Its platform is intended to provide that flexibility by introducing another revenue stream that works alongside existing pricing models.
Monetization Built for Conversational Software
Velocity’s approach differs from traditional advertising platforms because it starts with conversations rather than browsing behavior.
The company says AI interactions naturally reveal user intent, allowing software to understand what someone is trying to accomplish in real time. Instead of relying on cookies or historical user profiles, Velocity analyzes multi-turn conversations and converts them into structured, privacy-safe intent signals.
Those signals support a platform built around three components: an AI-native advertising network for contextual recommendations, a mediation and auction layer that maximizes revenue across demand sources, and conversation intelligence technology that powers the overall system.
Tal Shoham, CEO and co-founder of Velocity, believes this represents a new infrastructure opportunity created by AI. “AI is becoming the dominant interface for software, creating entirely new opportunities around monetization and distribution,” he said. “We believe the biggest opportunity of the AI era will not only be building products, but also monetizing and distributing them. We’re building the infrastructure layer that helps solve both.”
Shoham added that the company is focused on making monetization part of the product experience rather than a disruption. “AI monetization should feel native to the experience,” he said. “Users expect AI interactions to be useful, contextual, and trustworthy. Our goal is monetization, recommendations, and product discovery that enhance the experience rather than interrupt it.”
Early Customers Highlight Operational Results
Velocity says early deployments suggest developers do not have to choose between generating revenue and maintaining a positive user experience.
Among its customers is Leadtech / MAU. Diego Díaz, CEO of the Subscription Division at Leadtech / MAU, described Velocity as “a great partner to work with,” adding that the team is responsive, collaborative, and quick to execute. He said the company has been impressed by both the platform and the people behind it and expects the partnership to continue producing meaningful outcomes.
The company also highlighted its work with AIBY’s Chaton application. Artsiom Turavets, Lead Product Manager at AIBY (Chaton), said the platform has delivered “strong performance while maintaining a high-quality user experience.” He added that AIBY has achieved “meaningful monetization outcomes alongside healthy engagement and retention metrics,” while praising Velocity for consistently delivering tailored solutions and acting as “a true partner.”
Investors See Opportunity Beyond AI Models
The investors participating in the round believe the AI ecosystem is entering a phase where supporting infrastructure will become increasingly valuable. As applications continue to proliferate, they expect companies focused on growth, monetization, and distribution to become an important part of the broader market.
Gigi Levy-Weiss, General Partner at NFX, said every major platform transition creates new infrastructure businesses. He believes AI-native applications represent one of the largest technology platforms in history and said Velocity is building “the growth infrastructure layer that enables that intent to drive monetization, distribution, and growth.”
Red Dot Capital Partners expressed a similar view. Partner Atad Peled said AI-native applications are creating “a massive new opportunity around user intent” and cited the founders’ experience building and scaling global software platforms as a differentiator. Velocity ultimately sees intent becoming the defining signal of AI, with Shoham concluding, “Every major platform has been built around a dominant signal. We believe the AI era will be built around intent, and we’re building the growth infrastructure layer to monetize and distribute through it.”
