Norwegian AI Startup Riff Secures $16M Series A to Expand Vibe Coding Platform

Major Funding Round for Norwegian AI Startup

Oslo-based technology company Riff, formerly known as Databutton, has reportedly secured $16 million in Series A funding according to recent announcements. The investment round was led by venture capital firm Northzone with participation from Norwegian investors Skyfall Ventures and Sondo Capital, Finnish Maki.vc, Berlin-based Global Founders Capital, and Illusian, the family office of Supercell founder Ilkka Paananen. This latest funding brings the company’s total capital raised to $21 million.

Major Funding Round for Norwegian AI Startup
Transforming Business AI Implementation
From Startup Tool to Enterprise Solution
Strong Customer Retention Metrics
Comprehensive Customer Support Approach
Future Product Development

Transforming Business AI Implementation

Riff operates in the emerging field of “vibe coding,” which enables users with minimal technical background to create, launch, and maintain applications. The timing of this funding coincides with the company’s launch of an extended suite of AI products, including AI applications, automation tools, and agents that integrate with customers’ existing technology infrastructure.

According to CEO and cofounder Trygve Karper, the company aims to address the significant challenge many businesses face when implementing AI solutions. Sources indicate that a MIT report published earlier this year revealed that while companies are eager to integrate AI, approximately 95% of these initiatives fail to deliver meaningful value.

From Startup Tool to Enterprise Solution

“A lot of the explosion in vibe coding has been driven by people who see that they can finally do a startup. Which is good, but it’s not really us,” Karper stated in the announcement. “But taking that same enthusiasm and results and putting that into an actual business setting, we can enable companies to do that internally. The value created there has an enormous potential.”

The company was founded in 2021 by Karper, Martin Røed, and Viral Shah, all former employees of Norwegian unicorn Cognite, where they worked across engineering and product teams. Riff currently serves approximately 150,000 users, with Cognite among its business customers.

Strong Customer Retention Metrics

Analysts suggest that Riff’s customer retention rates are particularly noteworthy in the competitive AI platform space. According to company reports, business customer retention has stabilized at 51% after three months, which Karper describes as “extraordinary” given the number of curiosity-driven sign-ups common in the AI sector.

“We see that [business customers] are very sticky and we have a good retention there,” Karper noted. The company reportedly serves clients across multiple industries, including financial services, logistics, healthcare, manufacturing, and consumer goods, with business customers comprising 40% of its user base.

Comprehensive Customer Support Approach

The company attributes its retention success to several factors, including close customer relationships and comprehensive support services. “There is always a path to success for our customers,” Karper explained. “That is why we have a services arm in Singapore, for example. We also have a very personal relationship with our customers when they first come in.”

Riff offers training programs covering its vibe coding platform, security protocols, and provides templates and examples to help customers understand what they can build. “It’s very easy to get started and give value, and we want to enable them to actually do it in practice,” Karper added.

Future Product Development

With the new funding, the company is positioned to expand its product offerings and market reach. Karper indicated that while retention rates for their newly launched product remain unknown, the company has “strong reasons to believe it will be even better” than existing offerings.

The successful Series A round demonstrates continued investor confidence in the startup sector despite broader market challenges, particularly for companies showing strong customer adoption and retention metrics in the competitive AI tools marketplace.