RapidCanvas, a startup that builds custom AI applications for mid-sized companies, has raised $29 million in Series B funding led by Vertex Ventures SEA and India. The RapidCanvas funding brings its total raised to $52.5 million. The company pairs its AI platform with field engineers who build and run each customer’s AI tools, aiming to fix a common problem: AI projects that never leave the pilot stage.
Inside the RapidCanvas Funding Round
Hitachi Ventures joined as a new investor. Existing backers Accel, Peak XV Partners, Valley Capital Partners, and Titanium Ventures also took part.
The company says it will use the money in a few key ways:
- Growing its go-to-market teams
- Expanding its network of private equity and advisory partners
- Hiring more field AI engineers across India, the US, and Brazil
- Investing in its three core products
This round comes less than two years after a $16 million Series A in December 2024, which was led by Peak XV Partners.
How RapidCanvas Builds Custom AI
RapidCanvas calls itself a managed AI execution company. It was founded in 2021 by Rahul Pangam and Uttam Phalnikar, who previously built Simility, a risk management company acquired by PayPal.
Its field engineers learn how a customer’s business runs, design and build custom AI apps, and stay responsible for the results after launch.
The work runs on three connected products, all offered under subscription pricing:
| Product | What it does |
|---|---|
| Enterprise Context Engine | Captures how a business process runs, from requirements and tribal knowledge to data schemas and decision history, with the customer owning that context |
| Visual Development Canvas | Lets engineers build custom AI applications quickly, backed by a growing skills library |
| Operational Harness | Manages and governs AI solutions once they are running in production |
Growth Numbers So Far
The company says more than 75 enterprises in manufacturing, financial services, retail, business services, and infrastructure have made 1.4 million AI-led decisions with its apps so far in 2026. It adds that over 40% of its customers now run several AI use cases in production, and that its annual recurring revenue grew eight times over the past six quarters.
Market data firm Tracxn put RapidCanvas’s estimated revenue at $35.8 million as of December 2025. That figure is an outside estimate, not one the company has confirmed.
Why Mid-Sized Companies Need Help With AI
RapidCanvas is targeting businesses with $100 million to $10 billion in annual revenue. These firms often have AI budgets and pressure from leadership, but no clear path to results.
Many of these companies already have mandates to use AI but lack the in-house experts to build and run custom apps. That gap between ambition and results is the space RapidCanvas wants to fill.
Pangam argues that vibe coding has made it easy to start building with AI, but getting it into production safely is still the hard part. RapidCanvas competes with firms such as Databricks, Altair, and Quantexa in this space.
A Big Market to Chase
The opportunity is large. A Gartner note from January projected that global spending on direct AI services will hit $516 billion by 2029.
That spending is also fueling other enterprise AI raises, like Ramp’s recent AI finance funding, as companies shift from experiments to everyday use.
What This Means for You
If you work at a mid-sized company, this deal reflects a shift in how AI gets adopted. Here are some practical takeaways:
- Expect more vendors to sell AI as a managed service with engineers included, not just software licenses.
- Before signing up, ask who owns your business data and process knowledge, and whether you can take it with you.
- Set a clear goal and timeline for any AI project so it does not stall as a pilot.
- Check how a vendor monitors and governs AI once it is live, not just how fast it can build.
You can compare options in our guide to AI business tools, learn how AI agents replace older integration software, or browse data analysis tools. For more updates, visit our AI news page.
Sources
This article is based on reporting from Mint, Inc42, and Entrackr.
Conclusion
RapidCanvas’s $29 million Series B, led by Vertex Ventures SEA and India, brings its total funding to $52.5 million. The company blends an AI platform with hands-on field engineers to help mid-sized firms move AI from pilots into daily operations. It plans to spend the money on sales, partners, and engineering teams in India, the US, and Brazil. As more companies demand real returns from AI, managed approaches like this one are likely to draw more attention.
