内容来源：https://www.geekwire.com/2025/seattle-entrepreneur-stefan-kalb-launches-new-startup-to-help-mid-market-businesses-tap-into-ai/

内容总结：

西雅图连续创业者斯蒂芬·卡尔布携新项目Super Labs重返科技舞台，致力于为缺乏技术专长的中型企业提供人工智能解决方案。这家成立于去年9月的初创公司近日完成800万美元种子轮融资，由西雅图风投机构FUSE领投。

卡尔布指出创业灵感源于传统行业经营者的普遍困扰："非技术背景的企业想要接入AI领域异常艰难"。Super Labs采用双轨模式：既是AI工具市场，也是落地服务商。企业主只需用自然语言描述业务痛点（如"需要解决三张表格手动记录工时的难题"），平台即可自动生成工作流并标识AI改造节点。

与直接开发AI工具不同，该公司主要扮演"技术翻译官"角色，一方面为中小企业匹配现有AI供应商，另一方面承担需要专业知识的系统集成工作。卡尔布强调中型企业市场体量已超过标普500公司总和，若无法获得AI赋能，将面临被时代淘汰的风险。

在供给侧，平台为开发者开辟了触及非技术客群的新渠道，采用按使用量分成的商业模式。目前Super Labs正聚焦制造业、电商、零售等具有自动化潜力的领域验证模式。

面对Gumloop、Langflow等同类平台的竞争，卡尔布认为其差异化优势在于市场平台定位及对安全性的专注。这位曾创办健康食品公司Molly's的创业者坦言："若当年经营实体店时有这样的平台，会是梦寐以求的利器。"

其此前创立的生鲜预测企业Shelf Engine虽获得超6000万美元融资，但经历裁员后最终被收购。卡尔布将此次经历称为"令人失望的收购"，表示在新项目中会更审慎地控制发展节奏。

本轮融资方还包括Y Combinator首席执行官盖瑞·谭、墨丘利科技CEO伊玛德·阿昆德等知名投资人。

中文翻译：

西雅图创业者斯蒂芬·卡尔布正以全新使命回归商业舞台——致力于为缺乏技术专长的中型企业引入人工智能解决方案。这位此前创办生鲜杂货技术公司Shelf Engine的企业家，如今携手联合创始人贾里德·科弗隆创立了Super Labs。

今年9月正式成立的Super Labs已完成800万美元种子轮融资，由西雅图风险投资公司FUSE领投，Y Combinator首席执行官盖瑞·陈、Liquid 2 Ventures、Soma Capital等机构跟投。卡尔布出任公司首席执行官，其联合创始人科弗隆曾是Pioneer Square Labs首席软件工程师，并在Flux、Rover和Glowforge任职。

卡尔布创立新公司的灵感源于频繁接到传统行业经营者的咨询电话，这些非科技企业主迫切希望了解如何应用人工智能。“对非技术背景人士而言，进军AI领域确实障碍重重，”他坦言。

Super Labs采用双轨运营模式：既是技术市场也是实施伙伴。企业主可在平台直接描述业务痛点，例如“需要解决跨三个电子表格手动追踪工时的难题”，平台随后将可视化其工作流程并标识AI技术嵌入节点。该公司通常不自建AI解决方案，而是充当连接企业与现有AI供应商的桥梁，并承担本需专业技术能力实施的复杂集成工作。

卡尔布发现中型企业市场蕴藏巨大机遇，其经济规模甚至超越标普500指数成分公司。他警告称，当企业级客户纷纷采用AI工具时，缺乏Super Labs这类平台的中型企业将面临淘汰危机。“中型企业正在被时代抛弃，”他直言。

在供给端，Super Labs为开发者打造了基于使用量的分销渠道，使其AI产品能触达以往难以企及的非科技客群。目前该公司正聚焦制造业、电商、分销和零售领域，验证其商业模式的可行性。卡尔布指出，这些行业存在“大量可自动化的工作流程”。

面对Gumloop、Langflow等智能体目录平台，以及Vendr、Tropic等企业软件市场的竞争，卡尔布强调其核心竞争力在于独特的市场定位及对安全可靠性的专注。

卡尔布的创业历程始于健康食品公司Molly's，为西雅图地区的咖啡馆和医院供应沙拉三明治。这段实体经营经历让他深切体会到传统企业的运营困境。“当时要是有Super Labs这样的平台该多好，”他感慨道。

其后创立的Shelf Engine运用AI技术预测生鲜订单量，帮助杂货商减少食品浪费。该企业曾与克罗格、塔吉特、达乐百货等大型零售商合作，今年初被零售数据公司Crisp收购。尽管累计融资超6000万美元并获得名人背书，但经历裁员风波后，卡尔布将此次收购称为“令人失望的结局”。

对比此前经历，卡尔布表示将更审慎地推进Super Labs的规模扩张。其种子轮投资者还包括Massive Tech Ventures（卡尔布自有风投基金）、Mercury首席执行官伊玛德·阿昆德、Pioneer Fund及科技界领袖戈库尔·拉贾姆。

英文来源：

Stefan Kalb, a Seattle entrepreneur who previously founded grocery tech startup Shelf Engine, is back with a new venture — and a mission to bring artificial intelligence to mid-market companies that don’t have technical expertise.
Kalb is co-founder and CEO of Super Labs, which launched in September and just raised $8 million in a seed funding round led by Seattle-area venture firm FUSE. Other backers include Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan, Liquid 2 Ventures, Soma Capital, and others.
Kalb said the idea for Super Labs emerged after he kept getting calls from people who run “non-tech businesses” and wanted to figure out how to implement AI.
“If you’re non-technical, and you’re trying to move into the AI space — it’s really hard,” Kalb said.
Super Labs operates as both a marketplace and an implementation partner. The platform allows business owners to describe their problems — “I need to stop manually tracking project hours across three spreadsheets,” for example — then visualizes their workflows and identifies where AI can be integrated.
The company doesn’t typically build the AI solutions itself. Instead, it connects businesses with existing AI vendors — such as a voice AI tool — and handles the complex integration work that would normally require technical expertise.
Kalb sees massive opportunity in the mid-market segment, which he said is larger than the S&P 500 in economic terms. His concern is that without platforms like Super Labs, these companies will fall behind as enterprise customers gain access to AI tools.
“The mid-market companies are going to get screwed,” he said.
On the supply side, Super Labs provides a marketplace for developers to distribute their AI products through usage-based models, offering exposure to non-tech customers they otherwise couldn’t reach.
For now, Super Labs is focused on proving its model with early customers in manufacturing, e-commerce, distribution, and retail — businesses that have “all these different workflows that can be automated,” Kalb noted.
Super Labs enters a crowded field of AI consultants and implementation firms. It competes against agent directory platforms such as Gumloop and Langflow, and enterprise software marketplaces such as Vendr and Tropic. Kalb said his company differentiates with its marketplace approach and focus on security and reliability.
Kalb co-founded Super Labs with Jared Kofron, who was a principal software engineer at Pioneer Square Labs and previously worked at Flux, Rover, and Glowforge.
Kalb’s first entrepreneurial experience was founding Molly’s, a healthy food company that supplied salads and sandwiches to Seattle-area cafes and hospitals. That brick-and-mortar experience exposed him to the operational challenges of traditional businesses. “I would have dreamed of having Super Labs,” he said.
Shelf Engine, his next venture, applied AI to reduce food waste in grocery stores by predicting optimal ordering quantities for perishable goods. The company worked with major retailers like Kroger, Target, and Dollar General before its acquisition by retail data company Crisp earlier this year.
Shelf Engine raised more than $60 million from investors and landed celebrity endorsements — but later went through layoffs. Kalb called it a “disappointing acquisition.”
Kalb said he plans to be more deliberate about scaling Super Labs than he was with Shelf Engine, where rapid hiring led to challenges.
Other backers in Super Labs include Massive Tech Ventures (Kalb’s own venture fund), Mercury CEO Immad Akhund, Pioneer Fund, and longtime tech leader Gokul Rajarm.