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Minicor raises $3.8 million seed round to bring API access to legacy desktop software
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Minicor has raised $3.8 million in seed funding to help enterprises bring AI into legacy desktop applications that lack application programming interfaces (APIs).
The round was led by IA Ventures, with participation from Y Combinator and Paul Graham, alongside Pioneer Fund, Robinhood Ventures, Garage Capital, Rebel Fund, Blast, SuccessVP, K5 Global, 20VC, Phosphor Capital, Metsu Capital and other investors.
The company, which is part of Y Combinator's Spring 2026 batch, is developing technology designed to let AI agents interact with existing desktop software through endpoints that function like APIs.
The funding will support Minicor's efforts to address a practical barrier to enterprise AI adoption: the difficulty of connecting modern AI systems with established software that businesses still depend on.
The challenge of software without APIs
Many organisations continue to rely on desktop applications that were not designed for integration with modern AI systems.
According to Minicor, 70% of Fortune 500 companies still run desktop applications without APIs. These systems can contain important operational workflows, but connecting them to AI often requires substantial engineering effort.
One conventional approach is robotic process automation (RPA), which can automate repetitive tasks but may require significant development and ongoing maintenance. Another is computer-use agents that interact with applications through their graphical interfaces. Although these can be easier to deploy, performance and reliability can become challenges when workflows involve extensive data entry or complex sequences of actions.
For enterprises, replacing established applications is not always practical. The challenge is finding a way to introduce automation without rebuilding the systems that already support business operations.
Turning desktop applications into AI-accessible endpoints
Minicor is building a layer that enables AI agents to interact with legacy desktop software through API-like endpoints.
Rather than requiring each application to be redesigned for integration, the company's approach is intended to let agents learn how the software works, create the necessary automations and maintain those workflows over time.
This could allow AI systems to interact with existing enterprise applications while reducing the need for organisations to build and maintain individual automation workflows from scratch.
The approach targets a gap between AI capabilities and the systems in which much of enterprise work still takes place. While AI models can process information and make decisions, their usefulness can be limited when they cannot access the applications where business data and processes reside.
Addressing the next layer of enterprise AI adoption
The funding comes as businesses look beyond AI experimentation towards integrating AI into operational workflows.
For many enterprises, the next stage of adoption will depend not only on model capabilities but also on whether AI can work reliably with existing finance, operations, administration and other business systems.
Minicor's approach focuses on extending AI into these environments without requiring every application to expose a conventional API.
If successful, this could expand the range of tasks that AI agents can perform across established desktop software, potentially reducing manual data entry and the engineering effort required to automate repetitive processes.
The company is positioning this capability as a way to unlock further productivity gains from systems that organisations already use.
Investor backing for a legacy automation problem
IA Ventures led the seed round, with Brad Gillespie associated with the investment. Y Combinator and Paul Graham also participated, alongside a broader group of venture funds and individual investors.
The investor participation provides early backing for Minicor's attempt to solve a problem shared by many organisations: connecting newer AI capabilities with software that predates modern integration standards.
The company's longer-term opportunity will depend on how reliably its technology can interact with different applications, maintain automations as software changes and meet enterprise expectations around security and operational control.
Bringing AI into the systems businesses already run
Minicor's proposition centres on a straightforward idea: enterprises should not have to replace every legacy application before they can benefit from AI.
By aiming to make desktop software accessible through API-like interfaces, the company is seeking to reduce the gap between AI agents and the operational systems they need to use.
As enterprise AI moves towards more practical deployment, solutions that connect AI to existing software could become an important part of the technology stack. Minicor's new funding will support its efforts to make that connection easier to build and maintain.
About Minicor
Minicor is an AI automation startup developing technology that allows AI agents to interact with legacy desktop applications through API-like endpoints. Its approach is designed to help enterprises automate workflows in software that lacks conventional APIs, reducing the engineering and maintenance involved in connecting AI with existing systems.