Conversational AI platform Parloa has secured $66 million in a Series B round, a year after raising $21 million from various European investors to drive its international expansion.
The German company is particularly focused on the U.S. market and has recently opened an office in New York. This move has helped them onboard 'several Fortune 200 companies' in the region. Altimeter Capital is the lead investor in this latest round, a U.S.-based VC firm known for its investments in companies like Uber, Airbnb, Snowflake, Twilio, and HubSpot.
The use of AI and automation in customer service is not a novel concept. However, with the emergence of large language models (LLMs) and generative AI infrastructure, truly intelligent 'conversational' AI is once again attracting significant investor interest. Established players like Kore.ai have recently raised substantial funds, with Kore.ai securing a $150 million round from investors like Nvidia. Similarly, entrepreneur Bret Taylor launched a new customer experience platform called Sierra, focusing on 'AI agents,' and has raised over $100 million from venture investors.
Parloa is well positioned to take advantage of the growing interest in 'AI everything' as companies look for ways to enhance efficiency through automation.
Founded in 2018, Parloa already serves high-profile clients like Swiss Life and Decathlon, who use the platform for automating customer communications across various channels. According to CEO Malte Kosub, Parloa excels in 'voice' interactions, focusing on providing a more human-like experience.
CTO Stefan Ostwald highlighted Parloa's AI-centric approach, with a strong focus on voice interactions. The company utilizes proprietary and open-source LLMs to train models for speech-to-text applications.
With a total funding of $98 million, including the recent $66 million from Series B, Parloa is well-positioned to expand its presence in both Europe and the U.S. Kosub mentioned that the company has tripled its revenue for the past three years.
Aside from Altimeter as the lead investor, Parloa's Series B round also saw participation from EQT Ventures, Newion, Senovo, Mosaic Ventures, and La Familia Growth. The company's strong growth trajectory and innovative product have attracted substantial funding and interest from investors."
