Console, a new startup founded by MIT Media Lab alum Andrei Serban, has raised a $6.2 million seed round led by Thrive Capital. The company’s mission is to make IT teams more productive by eliminating the friction. By eliminating boring, manual and repetitive tasks, we free help desk employees to be more productive on higher-level projects. That goal is to completely revolutionize the way IT departments work, and this funding round is a big step toward that mission for Console.
Serban started up Console after departing Rippling last year. The company’s long term goal is to automate other help desk functions with deep AI. The startup’s technology can handle tasks such as password resets, application access permissions, and routine troubleshooting. Activities that typically consume a considerable amount of IT professionals’ time. By streamlining these routines, Console hopes to empower employees to focus their time and energy on solving bigger problems.
Serban’s path to this new endeavor started at Rippling. There, he became the product lead for the apps and integrations team, where he continued to be inspired by his experiences. He quickly understood how crucial, high-stakes work IT’s manual process was and how freeing up capacity through automation could help make a difference. Serban’s previous coding security startup, Fuzzbuzz, was acquired by Rippling in 2023, further informing his understanding of the industry’s needs.
Console provides a break from their existing competitors by removing complicated installation processes. This focused approach enables organizations to rapidly implement Console’s solutions without disrupting their current help desk infrastructure.
We’d like Console to be the first place that employees call for help,” said Serban. He noted the startup’s fierce dedication to providing user-focused support.
As for Console’s investors, Thrive Capital—the VC behind some of the most well-known AI companies, including OpenAI, Cursor and Scale AI—believes in what Console is building. Vince Hankes, an investor at Thrive Capital, is increasingly optimistic about AI improving IT maintenance tasks. Yet his conviction has only deepened since ChatGPT first made waves in the fall of 2022.
Console has ambitions to move beyond help desk-oriented services. The startup hopes to expand to support other business areas, like HR, finance and legal departments. With this expansion, its role as an essential resource within organizations will be further solidified.
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