By: Jake Smiths
Generative AI has dramatically lowered the barriers to building software. Startups can launch products faster than ever, enterprises are embedding AI into existing platforms, and entirely new application categories continue to emerge. But while creating AI products has become easier, turning them into sustainable businesses remains a growing challenge.
Velocity believes the next defining layer of AI infrastructure won’t focus on model development or application creation; it will focus on helping AI companies monetize and distribute their products more effectively. That vision helped the company secure $27 million in seed funding, led by NFX and Red Dot Capital Partners, with participation from Stardom Ventures, Corner Ventures, and Transcend.
Founded by Tal Shoham alongside Amir Shaked and Nimrod Zuta, the company is developing infrastructure designed specifically for AI-native software, drawing on the founders’ experience building monetization and growth platforms during their years at ironSource and Unity.
As AI Usage Grows, So Do Economic Pressures
Consumer adoption of AI continues to accelerate, with millions of users interacting daily with AI assistants, coding tools, creative applications, and industry-specific solutions. Yet many companies face an increasingly difficult balancing act.
Inference costs continue to rise as models become more capable, while the majority of users remain on free plans. For many developers, subscription revenue alone has struggled to keep pace with operating costs.
The industry’s common response has been familiar: limit free usage, restrict premium features, or introduce paywalls early in the user journey. While these measures can improve short-term revenue, they may also reduce product discovery and user engagement.
Velocity is proposing a different approach. Rather than relying solely on subscriptions, the company is building an additional monetization layer that enables developers to expand free access while creating another source of revenue through native advertising integrated directly into AI experiences.
As Shoham explained, “AI is becoming the dominant interface for software, creating entirely new opportunities around monetization and distribution. 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.”
Treating Intent as the New Growth Signal
Velocity’s platform is built around what it considers one of AI’s unique advantages: users explicitly reveal what they are trying to accomplish through conversation.
Unlike traditional advertising systems that depend on cookies or historical browsing data, AI conversations surface user intent in real time. Velocity says its infrastructure interprets multi-turn conversations, extracts structured intent, and delivers relevant recommendations within the experience itself.
The company has built its platform around three primary components: an AI-native advertising network, a mediation and auction layer that optimizes revenue across demand sources, and a conversation intelligence layer that transforms dialogue into structured, privacy-safe intent signals.
For Shoham, preserving the user experience is central to the strategy. As he noted, “AI monetization should feel native to the experience. 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 Deployments Focus on Balancing Revenue and Engagement
Velocity says its early customer deployments suggest AI applications can introduce monetization while maintaining user engagement and retention.
Diego Díaz, CEO of the Subscription Division at Leadtech / MAU, described the collaboration as one built around both execution and partnership, saying, “Velocity has been a great partner to work with. The team is responsive, collaborative, and moves quickly. We’ve been impressed by both the product and the people behind it, and we’re excited about the opportunities ahead. We’re confident this partnership will lead to meaningful outcomes as we continue building together.”
The company has also gained traction among consumer AI applications, including AIBY’s Chaton platform.
According to Artsiom Turavets, Lead Product Manager at AIBY (Chaton), “Velocity has been an exceptional partner, focused on maintaining a high-quality user experience, which is critical for any consumer AI product.” He added that the team consistently delivers tailored solutions and “operates as a true partner.”
Investors See a New Infrastructure Category
Velocity’s investors believe AI is creating an entirely new market for growth infrastructure, similar to how previous technology shifts gave rise to search, social, and mobile ecosystems.
Gigi Levy-Weiss, General Partner at NFX, said the firm views AI-native software as “one of the largest new technology platforms in history,” adding that “Velocity is building the growth infrastructure layer that enables that intent to drive monetization, distribution, and growth.”
That long-term outlook was echoed by Atad Peled, Partner at Red Dot Capital Partners, who said AI-native applications are creating “a massive new opportunity around user intent” and that Velocity’s combination of experienced operators and product vision positions the company to define the category.
Looking ahead, Velocity sees user intent becoming the foundational signal of the AI era.
As Shoham put it, “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.”
