Gradient Ventures

San Francisco – October 29, 2026 -- Plato, a startup that builds simulated workplaces for training AI models, raised a $16 million Series A round led by Nava Ventures, lifting its total funding to $19 million.

Gradient Ventures, Transpose Platform and Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman also participated. Gradient Ventures had led the company's earlier seed round. Nava Ventures founder Freddie Martignetti joins Plato's board.

Simulations let AI labs train models without touching live systems

Plato targets the shift from AI that answers questions to AI that takes action. Training models directly in live software carries real risk: a model learning to place an order could spend actual money, and one practicing an administrative task could alter real records. Plato recreates these workflows in simulations that can be reset and reused.

New York – October 29, 2026 -- Sava, a New York-based trust company, emerged from stealth with $10 million in seed funding led by Gradient Ventures. It is targeting the $6.5+ trillion U.S. trust and estate industry with AI agents orchestrated by human trust officers.

Y Combinator, SV Angel and Instacart's Max Mullen join Gradient in Sava's round

Other participants include Orange Collective and SurgePoint Capital. Strategic operators Tomer London, co-founder of Gusto, and Eleonora Sharef, former Head of Private Wealth at McKinsey, also joined the round.

Sava was founded by Nimit Maru, who founded Fullstack Academy (acquired in 2019) and Bloomspot (acquired in 2012 by JPMorgan Chase Bank), and by Rush Sadiwala, a repeat founder of VC-backed startups. Maru serves as CEO.