Akinbile’s Minicor Wins $3.8m Backing in AI Breakthrough
Quick Reads
- Minicor seed funding gives Nigerian-born engineer Saheed Akinbile a $3.8 million boost for his AI startup.
- IA Ventures led the seed round, and Y Combinator and Paul Graham also joined.
- Minicor helps businesses connect AI applications with older software that lacks modern integrations.
- Akinbile grew up in Lagos, moved to Canada at 18, and now lives in San Francisco.
- The company has not disclosed its valuation, revenue or Nigerian expansion plans.
Minicor seed funding has reached $3.8 million, and a Nigerian-born engineer sits at the center of the deal. Saheed Akinbile co-founded the San Francisco startup, which helps businesses connect AI applications with older software systems. Minicor announced the round on its official website on October 14.
Brad Gillespie of IA Ventures led the round. The Minicor seed funding also drew Y Combinator and Paul Graham. Pioneer Fund, Robinhood Ventures, Garage Capital, Rebel Fund, K5 Global and 20VC joined too. Together, these backers signal strong interest in the unglamorous plumbing that links new AI tools to old enterprise systems.
Akinbile’s own path adds color to the story. He grew up in Lagos before he moved to Canada at 18. He later settled in San Francisco. At first, he planned to study mechanical engineering, but software won him over at the University of Ottawa. His career then took him through Ford, Morgan Stanley and Kinaxis. At Ford, he worked on automatic parking and trailer safety boundaries. He also helped build Software for Love and worked on Lucky Star, a lottery product under ESS Nigeria Limited.
Akinbile co-founded Minicor with Faizaan Chishtie. Their platform turns desktop workflows into API endpoints, so newer applications can talk to existing systems. Many of those desktop programs lack application programming interfaces, or APIs. As a result, businesses can keep their current software instead of replacing it. The focus emerged when a customer needed to link an AI product to an API-less medical records system. Later, Y Combinator admitted the startup to its Spring 2026 batch after seven applications and three interview invitations.
Minicor says its platform has recorded 2.5 million automation executions. The founders also report thousands of weekly workflows. One customer reportedly moved from proof of concept to production in three weeks. However, nobody has independently verified these figures. Minicor also faces tough competition from established players such as UiPath and Microsoft Power Automate. Meanwhile, the company has not disclosed its valuation, revenue or number of paying customers. It has not announced plans to open operations in Nigeria either. Still, Akinbile says improving Nigeria motivates his work, and he enjoys mentoring curious people.
