The Milton Keynes-based startup, which tripled its annual recurring revenue in the 12 months leading up to July 2025, is utilizing the new funding round to hire a Chief Revenue Officer and enhance product development.
Serve First, a UK AI-driven customer experience platform, has raised €5.7 million (£5 million) in new funding, as reported by EU Startups. This capital will help strengthen the firm’s sales and marketing, including appointing a Chief Revenue Officer, while also supporting ongoing product improvements.
This funding follows a £4.6 million round completed in July 2025, with backing from Pembroke VCT, Mercia Ventures through the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II, Tiny VCT, Techstars, and angel investors.
Founded in 2023 by Erol Ayvaz, Alan Mayer, and Antony Tagliamonti, Serve First is situated in Milton Keynes. The platform aggregates customer feedback from various sources including in-store surveys, online reviews, and mystery shopping, employing AI to convert this data into actionable insights and automated workflows for front-line teams.
The company serves sectors such as retail, hospitality, wellness, and facilities management, with clients like Aramark and Elior Group, two significant UK contract catering companies.
Ayvaz, with over two decades in customer experience technology, has experience with Asana and Market Force Information. He participated in the London Techstars accelerator program prior to the previous fundraising and was part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II portfolio.
The company not only tripled its annual recurring revenue in the year before the July 2025 fundraising but also doubled its workforce. The fresh capital is aimed at speeding up international expansion into Europe and the US, leveraging a UK market they claim to have validated with enterprise contract wins.
The customer experience management software market is projected to grow $17.1 billion from 2024 to 2029 at a CAGR of 15.7%, according to Technavio, which Serve First and its investors cite as a key factor in their sector confidence.