Risotto - AI-powered IT Support, Right Inside Slack

Company & Team Introduction

IT teams are drowning in tickets. Risotto fixes that with AI-powered automation natively built into Slack. Founded in 2024 and based in San Francisco, Risotto is on a mission to simplify IT support with AI. Led by seasoned founders with deep expertise in product development, IT operations, and engineering, the team is building an innovative, automation-first approach to IT service management. Aron Solberg (CEO), former Product Lead at Grammarly and Director of Product Management at Dropbox/HelloSign, specializes in AI-driven productivity tools. Alex Confer, former Head of IT Engineering at Gusto and Head of Corporate Identity & Access at Dropbox, brings critical knowledge in IT operations and enterprise security. Chris Paul (CTO), previously a Senior Engineer at Square and a Staff Engineer at HelloSign, ensures Risotto’s platform remains cutting-edge in AI, automation, and security. The company has quickly scaled to a team of ~5 and is positioning itself well as a rising player in enterprise IT support.

Product Overview

Risotto provides an AI-powered IT support platform that integrates seamlessly with Slack, allowing businesses to automate IT service management. The platform includes an AI-driven help desk that can create and route tickets automatically, reducing response times and improving IT efficiency. Smart ticket deflection and knowledge base integration help companies resolve common IT issues without human intervention. Additionally, Risotto offers identity and access management features, such as automated software provisioning, time-based access controls, and role-based security enforcement, ensuring IT teams can efficiently manage user permissions. The unified help desk supports cross-departmental ticket routing and integrates with existing enterprise IT knowledge bases, making it a comprehensive solution for internal support. Security is also a core pillar of Risotto’s platform. With HIPAA and SOC 2 certifications, it meets enterprise compliance requirements, making it a trusted solution for handling sensitive IT operations.

Market Opportunity

The IT Service Management (ITSM) market represents a growing opportunity driven by the increasing demand for AI-powered automation in IT operations. The market was valued at $10.5 billion in 2023, and it is expected to reach $22.1 billion by 2028, growing at a remarkable 15.9% CAGR through the period. As enterprises increasingly face more complex IT environments, they are being pushed to adopt AI-driven tools to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and maintain security compliance. With businesses prioritizing automation and seamless integrations, platforms like Risotto are well-positioned to capture demand in this rapidly expanding market.

Business Model & Traction

Risotto operates using a SaaS subscription model, catering primarily to mid-to-large enterprises. The company has already attracted significant early interest, with notable customers including Retool, Medium, Vidyard, and the National Women’s Soccer League. Early adopters have reported a 2x increase in IT service level agreement (SLA) capacity and an impressive 60%+ ticket deflection rate, significantly reducing IT workloads. Customer satisfaction has surpassed 90%, reflecting strong product-market fit. Risotto offers a 30-day free trial, allowing potential customers to experience its powerful automation features before committing to an enterprise-tier subscription. With a flexible pricing model tailored to company size and IT needs, Risotto is well-positioned to scale rapidly as more businesses adopt automation for their IT support.

Competitors

Risotto competes in a landscape dominated by established ITSM platforms like ServiceNow, Freshservice, and Zendesk, as well as AI-driven IT support tools like Moveworks, Espressive, and Rezolve.ai. What sets Risotto apart is its deep Slack-native integration, combined with its unique approach of merging IT support and identity management into a single AI-powered platform. This integration streamlines workflows and enhances security while enabling businesses to manage IT service needs and user access in one place. By focusing on automation and enterprise-grade security, Risotto offers a truly differentiated solution in a crowded market.

Funding

Risotto has secured $500K in early-stage funding through a SAFE note from participating in Y Combinator’s Winter 2024 batch. It has also received support from Pioneer Fund, an early-stage investor focused on YC alumni startups. The company is currently in the pre-seed stage but has already gained early enterprise customer adoption. Its recent SOC2 certification further strengthens its appeal to security-conscious enterprises, reinforcing its ability to serve as a reliable IT support automation platform.