Kana raises $15M to build flexible AI marketing agents

Serial marketing tech founders Tom Chavez and Vivek Vaidya (Rapt → Microsoft, Krux → Salesforce) just emerged from stealth with customizable AI agents for marketers.

• $15M seed round led by Mayfield
• 4th venture after 25+ years in martech
• "Loosely coupled" agents for campaign management, audience targeting, data analysis
• Real-time agent customization and deployment

How it happened:
• Built track record: Rapt (sold 2008), Krux (sold 2016)
• Launched startup studio super{set} to incubate ventures
• Identified AI + marketing opportunity during 9-month incubation
• Leveraged 25+ years of customer pain points
• Positioned flexibility as moat against incumbents

Takeaway: Deep domain expertise + AI timing + proven exits = investor confidence.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/18/kana-emerges-from-stealth-with-15m-to-build-flexible-ai-agents-for-marketers/

Source: TechCrunch

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