Pathlight Q1 2025 RFS

As we start to head into the new year, we wanted to publish some of the areas that we've been spending time across the team in public! If you're building (or thinking of building!) in any of these categories, please reach out to us at pitch@pathlight.vc.

Results as a Service for SMB Jobs to be Done

SMBs are the lifeblood of the world economy. There are millions of SMB services companies that require either (a) codified knowledge work (tax, bookkeeping, insurance) or (b) skilled trades labor (home/commercial services trades, home remodeling, physicians treating patients). There is a unique moment in time to reimagine SMB technology stacks to increase productivity of knowledge workers and reduce the cost of unskilled labor with novel solutions.

Areas include: Taxes, payroll and compliance, insurance (claims, broker reconciliations, voice support), accounting, field services, healthcare providers, salons/wellness, repair shops, restaurants, and construction.

SMBs Need Security, and MSPs Will Deliver It

SMBs are increasingly outsourcing their IT and security functions to MSPs. COVID has accelerated the shift from in-office to hybrid and remote work. Malicious actors are becoming more sophisticated and increasingly focusing on SMBs.

Areas include: Security products (backup DR, IAM, email protection, EDR), AI-enabled auto remediation and ticketing, end-to-end PSA, and customer management.

Physical World Observability

Digital observability markets are some of the largest software TAMs, but the real world is stuck in analog. We're excited about single control planes that connect to an asset inventory, identify issues from the physical world, investigate and prioritize them, and then drive remediation.

We've already partnered with Obvio.ai, which is transforming traffic and road safety for municipalities across the US.

Healthcare Payments and AI-Powered Workflows

Healthcare spending has risen from 5% of GDP in 1960 to 17.3% in 2022 ($4.5 trillion). Meanwhile, nearly 50% of a doctor's workday is spent on non-patient admin work. We believe AI is a true platform shift that allows traditionally underserved providers to get access to best-in-class software.

Opportunities include: End-to-end RCM, claim management, denial + appeals, payment posting + reconciliation, workforce management, managed service organizations, payor workflows (fraud detection, risk adjustment, claims processing), patient experience, and decreasing the cost of fertility services.

Vertical Reconciliation + Financial Transparency

Many SMB-dominated value chains have complicated funds flows, low trust, and extended receivables timelines. Technology has the potential to bring visibility to cash flows, increase trust, accelerate cash collection, and generate new levels of productivity.

We've partnered with Adaptive based on this thesis.

Agentic RPA for Legacy Enterprises

Across regulated customers — banks, insurance companies, local governments, health systems — fundamental workflows involve customer data, mapping to outcomes, and feedback/iteration. We believe there is a large opportunity to create an end-to-end vertical OS that completely sidesteps the tedious implementation cycles typically associated with RPA products.