Blogs
Read more
The Birth of Axcels: Transforming Tech SME Marketing Through Antler's Incubation Program
In the bustling innovation hub of Helsinki, amid the crisp autumn air of September 2024, three visionaries with complementary expertise came together through Antler's NOR7/HEL2 incubation program. Ari Lampela, Abdul Osman, and Walid Aransa arrived with diverse backgrounds but shared a common insight: technology companies, particularly SMEs, were struggling to communicate their value effectively in an increasingly noisy digital landscape.
The Antler program is designed to bring together exceptional talent and facilitate the formation of complementary founding teams before a business idea is even conceived. For Ari, Abdul, and Walid, the chemistry was immediate.
"We came from different worlds, but our perspectives aligned perfectly," recalls Ari Lampela, now CEO of Axcels. "With my experience scaling tech businesses at Google Cloud, IBM, and Aiven, Abdul's technical expertise as a serial entrepreneur, and Walid's deep AI background with a Ph.D. and patents in the field, we knew we had something special."
The trio began exploring various problems in the B2B technology space, but one theme kept resurfacing in their discussions: the disconnect between innovative tech products and the market's ability to understand their value.
Under the guidance of Antler Partner Antti Törmänen, the team embarked on a rigorous validation process. They conducted over 30 interviews with marketing professionals across the globe, from Silicon Valley to London, Helsinki to Paris.
"What became increasingly clear was that tech SMEs faced a universal challenge," explains Walid Aransa, CPO. "They were creating groundbreaking products but struggling to articulate their unique value effectively. With limited marketing resources, they couldn't compete with larger enterprises on content volume or quality, resulting in slower growth and missed opportunities."
The validation process revealed startling insights: many tech founders were spending up to 30% of their time on marketing activities despite limited expertise in the area. Marketing teams at Series A companies were stretched thin, typically producing only 2-3 high-quality content pieces monthly when they needed 10-15 to maintain market visibility.
Abdul Osman, CTO, notes, "We discovered that the problem wasn't just about content creation—it was about translating complex technical innovations into clear, compelling messaging that resonates with different stakeholders. This was a perfect challenge for AI to solve."
As the team delved deeper into potential solutions, one technological trend stood out: multimodal AI. The ability for artificial intelligence to work seamlessly across text, images, video, and audio represented a step-change opportunity in marketing content creation.
"Traditional marketing required different specialists for different content formats," says Ari. "A copywriter for the text, a designer for the visuals, a video editor, and so on. Multimodal AI offered the potential to unify this process, dramatically reducing the resources needed while maintaining—or even improving—quality and consistency."
The timing couldn't have been better. The Antler team had recently highlighted this shift in AI's impact on marketing:
"AI is having a major impact on marketing. Marketing automation has come a long way—from rule-based email scheduling to AI-native platforms capable of running campaigns with minimal human input," explained Chris Millisits, Partner at Antler Elevate. "With the rise of LLMs and agentic AI, we're seeing entire categories of marketing software emerge that generate copy, images, and video content on demand, auto-optimize SEO and ad spend, personalize websites in real time, orchestrate cross-channel campaigns dynamically, and manage influencer marketing from discovery to scriptwriting."
By October, the team had crystallized their vision: an AI-powered platform specifically designed to help tech SMEs communicate their value effectively through consistent, high-quality marketing content across multiple formats.
The name "Axcels" was chosen to represent acceleration and excellence—precisely what the platform would deliver to its customers. With their vision clear, the team began building their MVP, focusing on solving the specific pain points they had identified during validation.
"We weren't interested in creating yet another generic AI content tool," emphasizes Walid. "The world didn't need that. What tech SMEs needed was a solution that truly understood the nuances of technical products, could translate complexity into clarity, and maintained brand consistency across all touchpoints."
The team worked tirelessly through October and November, leveraging Abdul's technical expertise, Walid's AI knowledge, and Ari's deep understanding of the target market.
Throughout this journey, Antler's support proved invaluable. Beyond the initial team formation and idea validation, Antler provided mentorship, resources, and a network of industry connections.
"Antti challenged us at every step, pushing us to think bigger and validate more thoroughly," says Ari. "That rigorous approach ensured we were building something that genuinely solved a significant problem with a sizeable market opportunity."
By December 2024, just three months after their initial meeting, Axcels had progressed from concept to a functioning MVP—and secured their first investment as Antler officially welcomed them into their portfolio.
"Axcels represents exactly the kind of innovation we aim to catalyze at Antler," says Antti Törmänen, Partner at Antler. "They're addressing a clear market need with a differentiated solution at precisely the right technological moment. The team's complementary skills and deep domain expertise positioned them for success from day one."
The timing for Axcels couldn't be more opportune. According to Antler, "This is a generational opportunity to redefine how businesses connect with customers."
"We're tracking an entire ecosystem of AI marketing innovation," notes Antti Törmänen. "From companies like Jasper and Typeface in content creation, to Conversion and Averi in SEO and content operations, to Omneky and Plai in digital ads. What impressed us about Axcels was their laser focus on tech SMEs—an underserved market with substantial growth potential and specific challenges that generalist tools can't adequately address."
"What sets us apart is our deep understanding of the tech marketing ecosystem," explains Ari. "We're not building for everyone—we're building specifically for technology companies that struggle to translate their innovations into compelling marketing messages."
This focused approach resonated with Antler's investment thesis, which looks for category-defining companies addressing specific market gaps with innovative solutions.
With their initial funding secured, Axcels entered 2025 with ambitious goals. The platform continued to evolve, incorporating advanced features for multimodal content creation, team collaboration, and brand consistency.
"Our vision extends beyond just content creation," says Abdul. "We're building a comprehensive platform that helps tech SMEs establish clear, consistent messaging across all customer touchpoints—essentially transforming how they communicate their value to the world."
For the founding team, the journey from strangers to co-founders to portfolio company in just three months was exhilarating—but they recognize it's just the beginning.
"The validation we've received, both from customers and from Antler's investment, confirms we're on the right track," concludes Ari. "But our north star remains the same: helping innovative tech companies cut through the noise and achieve the growth they deserve. In a world where great products don't automatically win, we're ensuring great ideas get heard."
As Axcels continues to grow and evolve, they remain grateful for the foundation laid during those intensive months at Antler's Helsinki program—where three individuals with complementary skills came together to address a common pain point and create a solution with the potential to transform tech marketing for years to come.
.jpeg)
