Legato's $7 Million Seed Round Aims to Put App Creation Directly in Users' Hands

A new Israeli startup, Legato, has raised $7 million to tackle one of enterprise software's oldest problems: the slow, costly process of customization. The seed round, led by S Capital VC with Cerca Partners participating, was announced on January 20, 2026. The company, founded in 2025 by enterprise software veterans Dana Rochman and Shlomit Tennenbaum, is building AI that lets business employees create custom applications and workflows using simple language.

The core issue is familiar. Companies often spend more on consultants to tailor their software than on the licenses themselves, leading to projects that drag on for months. Legato's system acts as an internal development team. Users describe what they need in a chat interface, and the company's multi-agent AI architecture generates the necessary code, complete with testing plans and project management, all within the original software's secure environment. This process, investors say, can shrink wait times from months to hours.

"SaaS platforms are learning that better tools for developers aren't sufficient," CEO Dana Rochman told CTech. "The real opportunity is giving the business users—the people who know the requirements—the ability to build solutions themselves."

Legato enters a market full of AI coding assistants, but distinguishes itself by focusing on non-technical users within existing enterprise platforms, rather than just aiding professional developers. Early pilot programs are running with CRM and HR software providers, with plans to expand into finance, healthcare, and other sectors.

Investor Aya Peterburg of S Capital VC pointed to the massive professional services industry built around customization, suggesting Legato allows software vendors to capture that value directly. "With Legato, customizations are compressed into hours rather than months," Peterburg said.

The founders' experience with strained SaaS implementations informed the product's design. The tool allows user creations to be shared internally or published to vendor marketplaces, a model Legato calls the Platform Creator Economy. The goal is to transform static software into a growing ecosystem, turning customers into active partners in a platform's evolution.

Source: Webpronews