Paradigm just dropped its AI-powered spreadsheet on the world after raising $5 million from General Catalyst. The startup packs over 5,000 AI agents into familiar spreadsheet cells, letting users assign different prompts to columns while agents automatically crawl the web for data. With early customers like EY, Etched, and Cognition, founder Anna Monaco is betting this familiar interface will revolutionize how businesses handle data workflows.
Paradigm founder Anna Monaco saw the future of AI agents long before anyone called them that. After building chatbots for years, she recognized something profound: the most powerful AI interface might not be a chat window, but the humble spreadsheet that already lives at the heart of every business workflow. Today, her vision becomes reality as Paradigm launches publicly with $5 million in fresh funding from General Catalyst. The startup transforms spreadsheets into AI-powered command centers, embedding over 5,000 specialized agents that can research, analyze, and populate data on demand. Users simply assign prompts to individual columns and cells, then watch as AI agents automatically crawl the internet to fill in the blanks. "I had this personal pattern, and I noticed that a lot of other people had this pattern, of putting very important CRM data in spreadsheets just because it was the most flexible thing," Monaco told TechCrunch. "But it was actually a pain to maintain. There's so much manual work involved." That manual pain point sparked Paradigm's creation. The platform integrates models from Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google's Gemini, supporting seamless model switching based on task complexity and cost requirements. "We want to support every single model because we want our users to be able to have the highest reasoning outputs when they need it, but also the cheapest outputs," Monaco explained. The strategy is already paying dividends with enterprise customers. Global consulting giant has adopted the platform alongside AI chip startup and coding company . The diverse customer base spans consultants, sales teams, and finance professionals who subscribe to usage-based tiers. Monaco's fundraising process revealed unexpected product-market fit. "The interesting thing that happened when we fundraised is some people we pitched just kept on using and paying for the product," she noted. Even investors who passed continue using Paradigm internally, suggesting genuine utility beyond hype. The company faces competition from , which has raised over $6 million targeting similar territory, plus AI features rolling out from and . But Monaco dismisses direct comparisons, positioning Paradigm as an AI workflow platform that happens to use spreadsheet interfaces rather than a traditional spreadsheet with AI bolted on. The distinction matters for Paradigm's long-term vision. "What I'm seeing in the most popular AI products now is this fine balance between present and future," Monaco said. "How do you build something that is really powerful and generates a lot of value now but also sets you up really well for the future?" With $7 million raised to date, Paradigm plans aggressive product expansion. The team, which beta-tested through late 2024, will use the fresh capital to execute what Monaco calls an "extremely aggressive product roadmap." The timing appears strategic as enterprises increasingly seek AI solutions that integrate seamlessly with existing workflows rather than requiring wholesale platform migrations.
