When people talk about agentic AI — AI that doesn’t just answer but acts on your behalf — two names pop up: Tzafon and Adept. Their stories highlight both the promise and the risks of trying to disrupt one of the most competitive corners of tech.
Tzafon: A Swedish Challenger with Global Ambitions
Founded in 2023 in Stockholm, Tzafon has quickly positioned itself as one of the most serious players in enterprise agentic AI. The company raised $9.7 million (about €8.3M) in its 2024 pre-seed round, led by Index Ventures with participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners and others.
What makes Tzafon interesting is its multi-agent orchestration platform. Instead of relying on one single AI assistant, Tzafon builds secure, explainable systems where multiple agents can collaborate across browsers, apps, and operating systems. For enterprises that demand both automation and accountability, this approach is a breath of fresh air.
Still, compared to the billions flowing into Big Tech AI efforts, $9.7M looks tiny. Which raises the question: can Tzafon really hold its ground against giants like Amazon, Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic?
Adept: A Painful Tale For Investors
Adept once looked like it might be the company for agentic AI. Founded in 2022 in San Francisco, Adept raised a massive $350 million in March 2023, led by General Catalyst, alongside Spark Capital, Greylock, and Addition. Its pitch was simple but powerful: build AI agents that can use software the way humans do — clicking, typing, and navigating interfaces to get work done.
But in June 2024, Adept’s story took another turn. Amazon swooped in and hired away its founders and key team members, while also licensing some of its tech. Adept was left in a weakened, hollow state. In truth, it stopped being a serious contender almost overnight. Investors were left with the “shell” and a huge loss.
The knowledge and experience didn’t disappear, though — they just shifted to Amazon. And that’s the part that should worry every investor in this space.
Amazon’s Agentic Push
Amazon hasn’t been shy about where it’s going. With AWS Bedrock Agents and its internal AgentCore, Amazon is building out serious infrastructure for agentic systems. Add the long-rumored Alexa upgrade into the mix, and it’s easy to imagine a future where Alexa finally evolves into a true home agent — one that manages your digital life without needing a phone or a laptop.
The Giants Are Closing In
And it’s not just Amazon. OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google are all circling the same space. While their focus today is mostly on foundation models, they have every resource they need to roll out agentic solutions on a massive scale.
What Amazon did to Adept in 2024 feels eerily similar to Google’s 2025 “acqui-hire” of Windsurf’s top talent. In both cases, promising startups were stripped for parts while the giants absorbed the brains. For investors, this should be a flashing red light: early-stage AI companies face not just competition, but the existential risk of being hollowed out by Big Tech.
Tzafon: Lonely on the Battlefield
Which brings us back to Tzafon. For now, it stands almost alone as an independent startup tackling the enterprise agentic market. Its Swedish base and international offices in San Francisco and Tel Aviv give it global reach, but the real challenge is staying relevant while the giants gather momentum.
Will a $9.7M raise and a clever multi-agent platform be enough to fend off Amazon, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google? Or is Tzafon destined to follow Adept’s path — either swallowed whole or quietly sidelined? Time will tell.