Parloa, a conversational AI platform, has recently secured $66 million in a Series B funding round. This comes just a year after the German startup raised $21 million to support its international expansion. The company has been focusing on the U.S. market, opening an office in New York, which has helped it attract several Fortune 200 companies as clients.
The lead investor in Parloa’s latest funding round is Altimeter Capital, a notable U.S.-based VC firm that has previously invested in successful companies like Uber, Airbnb, Snowflake, Twilio, and HubSpot. The interest in conversational AI and automation in customer service is on the rise, and investors are particularly drawn to companies that offer smart and advanced conversational AI solutions.
Large language models (LLMs) and generative AI infrastructure have contributed to the development of truly intelligent conversational AI. Kore.ai, for example, recently raised $150 million in funding from prominent backers such as Nvidia. Additionally, former CEO of Salesforce, Bret Taylor, introduced Sierra, a customer experience platform with over $100 million in VC backing.
Parloa is well-positioned to take advantage of the growing demand for AI and automation in various industries. The company was founded in Germany in 2018 and has already secured high-profile customers like Swiss Life and Decathlon. These companies utilize Parloa’s platform to automate customer communications through channels like emails and instant messaging.
Co-founder and CEO Malte Kosub believes that Parloa stands out when it comes to voice interactions. He emphasizes that their strategy has always been centered around “voice first,” recognizing the critical role it plays in enhancing the customer experience. According to Kosub, Parloa’s AI-based voice conversations sound more human than any other solution available.
Parloa’s co-founder and CTO, Stefan Ostwald, highlights the company’s strong focus on AI since its inception. They have trained various speech-to-text models on phone audio quality and customer service use cases, using a combination of proprietary and open-source LLMs. Additionally, they have developed a custom telephony infrastructure to minimize latency, a key challenge in voice automation.
With the latest funding round, Parloa has raised a total of $98 million to date. The company has experienced significant growth, tripling its revenue over the past three years. Kosub expresses confidence in Parloa’s product and its competitiveness, particularly in the U.S. market where it has achieved overwhelming success.
Apart from Altimeter Capital, other investors in Parloa’s Series B round include EQT Ventures, Newion, Senovo, Mosaic Ventures, and La Familia Growth. With this additional funding, Parloa is well-financed to further expand its presence in both Europe and the U.S., solidifying its position as a leading conversational AI platform.