Swedish Starhive, led by Mindville co-founders, just got $5M to kill off spreadsheets in IT forever

Starhive team

Many IT teams still rely on outdated spreadsheets or inflexible commercial systems to manage assets like laptops, servers, software licenses, vendor contracts, and employee requests. This fragmented approach leads to inefficiencies, underutilised resources, and increased operational costs. Starhive uses conversational AI to help IT managers interact with large datasets, issue alerts for upcoming warranty expirations, and run simulations to forecast future resource needs.

Starhive has secured a $5 million pre-Series A funding round led by pan-European venture capital firm Ventech to accelerate its development of AI tools for business efficiency. Existing investor node.vc also participated in the round. This funding comes just seven months after the company’s $3 million seed round in September 2024.

The company will integrate various AI capabilities, including conversational AI, into its IT asset and service management platform. Teams can analyse and interact with vast amounts of data in real time, simulate future scenarios, reallocate underused assets, and optimise software license usage, ultimately helping businesses reduce costs and maximise resources.

Transforming IT asset management beyond legacy systems

Starhive was founded in 2022 by Tommy Nordahl and Mathias Edblom, Swedish entrepreneurs with over 40 years of combined IT and software development experience. The duo previously co-founded Mindville, an IT asset and configuration management company acquired by Atlassian in 2020. Nordahl also founded Riada, a leading Atlassian consultancy in the Nordics, which Eficode acquired in 2021.

Starhive emerged from their extensive experience with global IT teams. They observed recurring challenges: fragmented software landscapes, siloed data, and inflexible legacy systems hampering organisational productivity. This inspired them to create a robust data warehouse platform with custom application-building tools.

The founders set out to tackle data silos, inefficiencies, and high costs prevalent in traditional software solutions. Starhive offers a unified platform emphasising scalability, flexibility, and transparency, enabling users to build applications tailored to their unique workflows without coding.

Unlike competitors who focus solely on service management tools like help desks or ticketing systems, Starhive takes a broader approach by applying AI directly to asset lifecycle management, addressing hardware usage, license compliance, procurement workflows, and resource allocation inefficiencies.

Tommy Nordahl, CEO and co-founder of Starhive, believes the system will help IT teams operate more effectively with less friction. “Most businesses still manage assets and services with rigid legacy tools that aren’t fit for today’s complexity. Our goal is to change that by bringing the adaptability of no-code solutions and the power of AI into one cohesive platform.”

Starhive aims to empower organisations to streamline processes and boost productivity through custom applications built without coding expertise. The platform eliminates inefficiencies from manual workflows and generic software solutions while promoting innovation and flexibility. Rather than forcing businesses to conform to rigid frameworks, Starhive provides tools that adapt to specific business needs.

Starhive core: transforming IT asset management through intelligent automation

With Starhive, businesses can optimise software license usage, reallocate unused assets, and make faster decisions to enhance performance and return on investment (ROI). The platform’s no-code app builder lets users create customised internal tools, from onboarding processes to asset request forms, without developer assistance.

Unlike existing solutions, like NinjaOne, UpKeep, MaintainX, Atera, and SolarWinds Service Desk, which are focused on service management, Starhive applies AI directly to asset management, addressing a critical industry gap. IT staff can request AI recommendations instead of manually analysing data, making decision-making faster and more efficient. Users can set alerts for warranty expirations and other critical conditions, enabling proactive problem-solving. This shifts operations from reactive to predictive management, reducing waste while improving resource planning and operational efficiency.

For instance, Starhive’s conversational AI feature enables IT teams to interact with data dynamically—asking questions like “What percentage of laptops are nearing warranty expiration?” or “Which servers have been underutilised for six months?” This eliminates manual querying and spreadsheet analysis while delivering instant, actionable insights.

Starhive continues to offer its no-code app builder, which allows users to create applications for their specific needs—from asset request and IT infrastructure change approval apps to employee onboarding solutions.

Starhive CEO and founder Tommy Nordahl adds, “IT teams often rely on manual processes or rigid off-the-shelf software that fails to adapt to their specific needs, leading to inefficiencies and unnecessary costs. By integrating AI into asset and service management, Starhive provides a seamless, intelligent solution that combines the simplicity of ready-made software with the adaptability of a custom-built system. This investment will accelerate the development of our AI-driven capabilities, making IT operations more efficient and accessible to businesses worldwide.”

Ventech VC’s Joel Uddén says: “Starhive is addressing a significant gap in the IT management space by bringing AI to asset management, an area that has remained largely manual and inefficient. The ability to predict asset needs, optimise allocation, and reduce costs through AI-driven insights gives Starhive a clear competitive advantage. With businesses increasingly looking for smarter, more adaptable IT solutions, Starhive is well-positioned to scale rapidly in a market ripe for innovation. This investment is an opportunity to be part of the future of AI-driven enterprise efficiency. At Ventech, we are thrilled to back experienced and visionary serial entrepreneurs like Tommy and Mathias and support them in their go-to-market strategies thanks to our global presence.”

The post Swedish Starhive, led by Mindville co-founders, just got $5M to kill off spreadsheets in IT forever appeared first on Tech Funding News.

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