Global impact from a garage – How Lithuanian AI startup raised €14.9 million to help SMEs with AI teammates

Vilnius-based Sintra, an AI startup, announced today a €14.9 million Seed round to double down on its mission of empowering small businesses with simple-to-use AI helpers – the funding will also help expand the product and engineering teams. The round was led by Earlybird VC, with participation from Inovo, Practica Capital, and prominent angel investors. “What small business […] The post Global impact from a garage – How Lithuanian AI startup raised €14.9 million to help SMEs with AI teammates appeared first on EU-Startups.

Jun 10, 2025 - 09:41

Global impact from a garage – How Lithuanian AI startup raised €14.9 million to help SMEs with AI teammates

Vilnius-based Sintra, an AI startup, announced today a €14.9 million Seed round to double down on its mission of empowering small businesses with simple-to-use AI helpers – the funding will also help expand the product and engineering teams.

The round was led by Earlybird VC, with participation from Inovo, Practica Capital, and prominent angel investors.

“What small business owners need isn’t just another software product – they need assistants that provide real help – and that feel natural and intuitive,” said Chris Sidlauskas, Co-founder and CEO of Sintra. “We’re building AI teammates that help people turn their work into play.”

Founded in 2023 by Chris Sidlauskas, Rokas Judickas, and Vasaris Kaveckas, Sintra is an AI company that builds AI employees for SMEs to help them with marketing, sales, strategy, recruiting and “everything in between“.

Sintra has grown from a weekend project to a €10.5 million ARR business serving over 40,000 paying customers globally in 100+ countries.

The company’s platform offers small business owners AI-powered helpers capable of handling core tasks like social media, customer support, and administrative work by integrating directly with tools such as Facebook, Gmail, and Google Calendar.

Sintra’s story began in a Vilnius garage in 2018, where teenage friends Sidlauskas and Judickas ran a small marketing agency, learning business hands-on while helping local entrepreneurs. Years later, Sidlauskas launched a Notion-based AI tool inspired by ChatGPT prompts – laying the foundation for Sintra. Reuniting the original team, including designer Rokas and developer Kaveckas, they rebuilt the product around 12 AI teammates tailored for SMBs. Sintra 2.0 launched on 15 May 2024, hit €877k ARR in just 57 days, and continues to grow rapidly.

“Sintra is building the most intense AI product team out of Lithuania,” said Andre Retterath, General Partner at Earlybird. “They’re tapping into a massive underserved market with relentless product execution and a clear vision.”

According to Sintra, small businesses account for 44% of global GDP, yet more than 45 million still operate without adequate digital infrastructure. Most rely on spreadsheets, legacy software, or consumer apps ill-suited for business needs.

Sintra aims to change that by offering an “AI business in the box” – a platform where small business owners can onboard a team of AI helpers in minutes, not months.

Each helper is powered by Brain AI, a secure & horizontally shared intelligence layer that learns a business’s unique context over time, enabling increasingly autonomous action. From responding to messages to generating marketing content and helping with operations, Sintra’s Helpers are designed to work like teammates, not just tools.

Sintra is currently available via iOS and web, with pricing starting at $39/month.

“When we first saw Sintra – 2 months after commercial launch, we thought it was just another AI agent with traction off the charts. It was interesting to spend a day with the team in Vilnius. During this day we knew we wanted to invest – the vibe and intensity of Silicon Valley in a modest apartment in Vilnius felt magical,” said Michal Rokosz, Partner at Inovo. “I think there is no better place to work in our region if you are a young talented person willing to work hard and build something you will be proud of.”

For the Sintra team, this mission is personal. It’s about showing that global impact can start from a garage in Vilnius. It’s about building something lasting, not just for today, but for future generations.

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