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This AI Founder’s Audacious Plan To Buy Out His Own VCs

Feb 04, 2025 - forbes.com
Francis Pedraza, founder of Invisible Technologies, has successfully turned his AI clickworker startup into a profitable venture by combining AI with remote workers to handle complex, repetitive tasks that are difficult to automate. After struggling to attract venture capital, the company gained momentum with a pivotal contract from DoorDash during the pandemic and later secured deals with major companies like OpenAI, Amazon, and Microsoft. This led to a significant increase in revenue from $3 million in 2020 to $134 million last year, with a profit of $15 million. Instead of pursuing further VC funding, Pedraza has been buying back shares from early investors, using borrowed funds to do so, and has granted 55% of the company’s equity to its employees, fostering a sense of ownership and motivation among them.

Pedraza's strategy is to maintain control and avoid selling or going public, which he believes provides more freedom for the company. He aims to compete with large firms like Accenture by leveraging Invisible’s expertise in AI training to automate tasks more efficiently. The company’s focus is on securing large enterprise deals, and Pedraza has ambitious plans to expand Invisible's market presence. His approach of turning employees into stakeholders is seen as a way to drive growth and ensure that the benefits of the company’s success are shared among its workforce.

Key takeaways:

  • Francis Pedraza, founder of Invisible Technologies, successfully turned the company around by securing major contracts with companies like DoorDash and OpenAI, boosting revenue significantly.
  • Invisible Technologies has been buying back shares from early investors, with Pedraza borrowing against the company to do so, aiming to increase employee ownership and control.
  • The company focuses on combining AI with human intelligence to tackle complex tasks that are not fully automatable, positioning itself against larger firms like Accenture.
  • Pedraza has granted 55% of the company's equity to current and former employees, emphasizing a model of shared ownership to drive motivation and growth.
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