Ex-OpenAI, Ramp, and Cognition Staffers Launch Hone with $60M to Build Autonomous Business Agents

Hone, a startup founded by former employees of OpenAI, Ramp, and Cognition AI Inc., has raised a $60 million seed round to develop AI agents capable of running business operations. Led by Benchmark and Index Ventures, the financing values the company at $285 million. The startup aims to move beyond point solutions by creating "engines" that autonomously own outcomes and handle long-running tasks spanning weeks or months.

Autonomous Business Engines

Hone’s technology analyzes a team’s goals and responsibilities to deploy engines that execute work independently, checking in with humans only when necessary. CEO Moritz Stephan, formerly the chief of staff at Cognition, describes the approach as "building AI that owns outcomes," contrasting it with tools that merely assist with specific tasks like lead generation. The goal is to impact broader productivity and business operations rather than just optimizing isolated workflows.

Security and Early Adoption

To address concerns about AI security incidents, Hone is implementing guardrails and what board member Peter Fenton calls "appropriate immune systems" to protect customers from potential cybersecurity risks. Early customers include Cognition and AI inference startup Modal. Cognition CEO Scott Wu is also a personal investor in Hone.