Berlin’s Parloa Raises $350M, Now Worth $3 Billion
The Parloa founders: Malte Kosub (CEO) und Stefan Ostwald (Chief AI Officer) - © Parloa
Berlin-based artificial intelligence company Parloa has raised $350 million in a new funding round, tripling its valuation to $3 billion in just eight months, according to Handelsblatt. The impressive growth makes Parloa Germany's second most valuable startup, trailing only Freiburg-based Black Forest Labs.
Founded in 2017, well before ChatGPT made headlines, Parloa specializes in automating customer service using AI technology. The company's AMP platform allows businesses to design and manage AI agents that handle phone conversations with customers, answering queries and processing requests automatically. Think of it as creating intelligent virtual assistants that can genuinely understand and respond to customer needs in natural conversations.
The fresh capital will fuel Parloa's international expansion, particularly in the United States and Spain. The company already operates in the US and plans to open a San Francisco office alongside its existing New York headquarters. With over 350 employees, Parloa now generates $50 million in annual recurring revenue.
Major clients include SAP, Allianz, Berlin Brandenburg Airport, and Booking.com. Hardware retailer Obi has been using the platform since 2022 to standardize customer interactions, though full AI agent deployment is still in planning stages.
The funding round was led by General Catalyst, whose CEO Hemant Taneja praised Parloa as "a clear market leader in this rapidly evolving segment." Early backers include LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, Celonis founders Bastian Nominacher and Alexander Rinke, and former World Cup champions Mario Götze and Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Speed matters in this competitive market. McKinsey partner Holger Hürtgen predicts the AI agent market will initially explode but then consolidate significantly as major platforms integrate similar functions. The conversational AI market is expected to reach $36 billion by 2032, according to Gartner.
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