Serval raises $47M to solve enterprise IT automation bottleneck with dual AI agents
Enterprise AI startup Serval has raised $47 million in Series A funding to scale its dual-agent approach to IT service management automation, addressing a critical bottleneck constraining AI adoption in enterprise operations.
Led by Redpoint Ventures with participation from First Round, General Catalyst, and Box Group, the funding brings Serval’s total raised to $52 million since founding in 2024. The company has already attracted notable AI-native customers including Perplexity, Together AI, Mercor, and Verkada, who report automating over 50% of their IT tickets through the platform.
Problem: Enterprise IT Drowning in Manual Operations
Traditional IT service management remains surprisingly manual despite decades of workflow automation tools. Enterprise teams juggle ticketing systems, access provisioning platforms, and fragmented automation scripts that require constant maintenance and expert knowledge to operate safely.
The complexity compounds as organizations adopt AI systems that generate their own operational overhead. Each new AI deployment creates additional service requests, security reviews, and infrastructure management tasks that stretch already-constrained IT teams.
Solution: Specialized Agent Architecture
Serval’s approach splits IT automation into two specialized AI agents rather than deploying a single general-purpose system. One agent focuses exclusively on building automations using “vibe coding” — natural language descriptions that generate production-ready workflows. A separate help desk agent executes these pre-built tools based on strict governance rules.
This architecture addresses the core enterprise concern around rogue AI behavior. Instead of a general agent that might respond to “delete all company data” requests, the help desk agent can only access explicitly created and approved automation tools. All actions flow through deterministic code paths with built-in permission controls, multi-factor authentication requirements, and time-based restrictions.
The vibe coding approach eliminates the traditional DevOps bottleneck around workflow creation. IT managers describe desired automations in plain language rather than wrestling with drag-and-drop interfaces or custom scripting environments.
Evidence of Enterprise Adoption
Serval’s customer base reads like a who’s-who of AI infrastructure companies. Perplexity reports fully automating employee onboarding and offboarding across core tools, while other customers have automated password resets, application provisioning, and user group management.
The 50%+ ticket automation rate achieved by customers suggests the platform handles substantial operational complexity beyond simple password resets. Vernon Man, head of IT at Perplexity, notes that tasks previously requiring hours of manual work now complete instantly.
Founded just one year ago, Serval’s rapid customer acquisition among sophisticated AI companies indicates strong product-market fit in the enterprise AI operations space.
Implications: Infrastructure Maturation Pattern
Serval’s dual-agent architecture represents a broader pattern in enterprise AI infrastructure: moving beyond general-purpose agents toward specialized systems that maintain human oversight while achieving significant automation gains.
This approach addresses the “95% pilot failure” problem plaguing enterprise AI deployments by providing deterministic execution paths and granular permission controls that enterprise security teams require.
The specialized architecture also suggests a path forward for AI agent deployment in regulated industries where general-purpose agents face compliance barriers.
Looking Forward: Agent-First IT Operations
Serval’s funding positions the company to expand beyond IT service management into broader enterprise operations automation. The dual-agent pattern could extend to HR workflows, procurement processes, and other back-office functions currently constrained by manual operations.
The platform’s governance-first design anticipates regulatory frameworks emerging around autonomous agent deployment, potentially providing a compliance-ready foundation for enterprise AI automation at scale.
As enterprises move from experimental AI pilots to production deployments, infrastructure companies like Serval that solve operational bottlenecks while maintaining security governance become critical enablers of organizational AI transformation.
Serval exemplifies the infrastructure maturation driving enterprise AI adoption beyond experimental deployments. For organizations looking to implement robust AI agent orchestration with enterprise security and governance, Overclock provides complementary automation infrastructure designed for production-scale agent coordination.