Scape raises $3.2M to rebuild the professional inbox as an AI-native interface

Scape, a Stockholm AI startup founded in 2024 by Melvin Hagberg (CEO, 23) and Elis Hodzic (co-founder, 23) through Y Combinator's Summer 2024 batch, has raised $3.2 million / €2.9 million from Y Combinator, General Catalyst, and FundersClub. Named angel investors include Max Junestrand (co-founder, Legora), Sebastian Knutsson (co-founder, King), Jacob Wallenberg jr. (board member, Ramp and EQT), and Sophia Bendz (former CMO, Spotify), alongside angels from the teams at OpenAI, Google, Meta, and Ramp. The company emerged from stealth on 24 July 2026 with its product available for public access.

Scape builds an AI-native email inbox — not a plugin layered onto an existing client, but an interface designed from first principles around AI handling the inbox on the user's behalf. The product proactively drafts replies, generates and attaches documents inline, and filters the inbox to surface only the messages that need a human decision. An integrated local meeting notetaker feeds context from calls directly into the email interface. The company's stated target is the professional user who runs their work primarily through email and currently uses AI tools as external additions rather than as the underlying interface.

Why the interface matters, not the assistant

The standard model for AI in email has been additive: a Gemini panel in Gmail, a Claude button in Superhuman, a Copilot sidebar in Outlook. Each adds a step — the user reads, then invokes the AI — rather than inverting the flow so the AI acts first and the user reviews. Scape's architecture places the AI at the top of the stack: it reads the inbox, drafts the response, attaches the document, and presents the human with a decision, not a task.

"Our bet is simple: email is where most professionals get their work done," said Melvin Hagberg. "They don't need another chatbot or Gmail plugin; they need an interface purpose-built for work that happens in email."

The bet has been made before, with varying outcomes — Superhuman improved email speed without changing the underlying workflow; Shortwave added AI summaries on top of a Google-backed infrastructure play. Whether Scape's architectural distinction holds in practice, at the scale and diversity of professional email, is the question the $3.2M is buying time to answer.

Y Combinator's second European seed this week

Scape is the second YC-backed company to surface in ProYarn's coverage in as many days: telli (Berlin, $15M seed, announced 23 July) also went through Y Combinator before closing its round. General Catalyst — which already participated in ProYarn-covered French rounds at Tsuga and Lucis — is extending its European AI exposure earlier in the stack with this seed.

Gustaf Alströmer, General Partner at Y Combinator, said: "It's painfully obvious that AI will transform email. While I've seen hundreds of startups try to innovate in the space over the years, I've seen nothing like the team behind Scape."

The angel roster adds texture. Sophia Bendz (former CMO of Spotify) brings a network that runs through the Stockholm tech ecosystem at depth. Sebastian Knutsson, who co-founded King (the maker of Candy Crush, acquired by Activision for $5.9 billion in 2016), brings a founder track record into the cap table. Jacob Wallenberg jr. connects the round to both Ramp — the US fintech — and EQT, the Swedish private equity giant. The capital goes to engineering and product, with no stated commercial hiring at this stage.