AI startup Listen Labs skips funding round to negotiate with Salesforce

Listen Labs, a market research startup that conducts customer interviews using voice-based AI, is in talks with Salesforce for a potential acquisition deal valued at around $2 billion. Consequently, the company backed out at the last minute from closing a $125 million Series C investment round led by Menlo Ventures.

Funding round abandoned

It is reported that the $125 million Series C investment round led by Menlo Ventures was not closed despite a signed term sheet. The startup walking away from this signed agreement is considered a rare occurrence in the startup ecosystem.

Acquisition negotiations with Salesforce

Behind the collapse of the financing round are acquisition talks being conducted with CRM giant Salesforce. It is stated that Salesforce is holding discussions to acquire the startup for approximately $2 billion.

The company's financial scale

The three-year-old startup generates about $30 million in annual revenue. This revenue figure is roughly three times that of Simile, a competing startup that predicts human behavior.

Market and valuation expectations

It is emphasized that the talks with Salesforce are not yet finalized and may not result in an agreement. If the negotiations fail, the startup is expected to return to the market and target a valuation of $2 billion or higher.

AI-driven market research

The AI technology developed by the startup generates survey questions and conducts interviews with customers via voice or video. These resulting conversations are packaged into reports and presentations similar to traditional market research.

Founding process and customers

The company was founded in 2023 by Florian Jüngermann and Alfred Wahlforss while they were pursuing master's degrees at Harvard. Fortune 500 companies such as Microsoft, Canva, Anthropic, and Sweetgreen utilize this technology.