Silicon Valley Startup OpenInfer Hires Revenue Chief, Eyes San Mateo Expansion

A Silicon Valley AI startup has added a senior executive, is hiring engineers and is evaluating larger office space in San Mateo as it rolls out a new product aimed at helping companies use AI in everyday business operations.

OpenInfer, a 13-person company, expects to more than triple its workforce over the next year as it builds out engineering, revenue and sales roles, CEO Behnam Bastani told the Business Journal.

The company raised $8 million in seed funding early last year and is now in discussions about a potential Series A funding round, Bastani said.

"We're going to expand our talent in the Valley," Bastani said. "We want to build here, hire here and grow here."

New Leadership

As part of that expansion, OpenInfer has hired Kam Eshghi as chief revenue officer. Eshghi previously co-founded Lightbits Labs, where he helped develop technology used in modern data centers and AI cloud environments. He also led strategic partnerships at DSSD, which was acquired by EMC.

Eshghi's hiring comes as OpenInfer launches a new product called Jean, designed to help companies use AI tools more easily within their organizations. The company is also considering whether it will need larger office space as it grows.

Building for the Next Phase of AI

The growth plans follow Nvidia GTC in San Jose, a conference where companies and investors focused on the next phase of artificial intelligence: moving from building AI models to putting them to work inside businesses.

Bastani attended GTC and said companies are increasingly looking for ways to run AI closer to their own data and operations rather than relying entirely on cloud providers, a shift that gained attention at the conference.

"The focus now is not just building AI, but making it practical and affordable for everyday business use," Bastani said.

OpenInfer's new Jean platform allows employees to assign tasks to AI through email, helping automate research, workflows and other business functions without installing new software. The goal is to make AI easier for companies to adopt without requiring major technical changes.

OpenInfer launched in late 2024 and is positioning itself around what many industry leaders see as the next phase of artificial intelligence: making AI more practical for everyday business use.

"This next phase of AI is about deployment, and that's where we see a big opportunity," Bastani said, adding that the company expects to grow its team locally as demand increases.