San Francisco-based Listen Labs raised $69 million in Series B funding led by Ribbit Capital, valuing the AI customer-research platform at over $500 million as demand grows for automated insights.
Listen Labs, a startup using artificial intelligence to automate customer interviews and research, has secured $69 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Ribbit Capital and values the San Francisco-based company at over $500 million. This investment highlights the accelerating demand for AI tools that streamline market research processes traditionally requiring extensive human labor.
Founded to transform how companies gather customer feedback, Listen Labs has developed proprietary AI technology that conducts and analyzes interviews at scale. The platform mimics human questioning techniques while identifying patterns in responses, enabling clients like Microsoft to rapidly test product concepts and messaging strategies. To date, the company has facilitated over 1 million customer interviews through its automated system—processing complex qualitative data in hours rather than weeks.
Ribbit Capital's investment signals confidence in Listen Labs' approach to solving critical enterprise pain points. 'Traditional customer research creates bottlenecks,' said a Ribbit spokesperson. 'Listen Labs removes them by delivering insights 10x faster at 20% of the cost.' Microsoft, an early adopter, uses the platform across its product teams to validate features before launch, citing a 40% reduction in research timelines.
The funding arrives amid surging corporate investment in AI-driven analytics. According to Gartner, spending on AI for market research will grow 35% annually through 2028 as companies seek faster, data-rich alternatives to focus groups. Listen Labs plans to allocate its new capital toward expanding its AI model's multilingual capabilities and developing industry-specific modules for healthcare and financial services. Engineering hiring will increase by 50% to support these initiatives.
Competition in the space includes well-funded players like UserTesting and Qualtrics, but Listen Labs differentiates through deep-interview specialization. Unlike tools that merely aggregate survey data, its AI conducts adaptive conversations—probing follow-up questions based on initial responses—to uncover nuanced insights. Pricing starts at $15,000 annually for basic packages, scaling to enterprise agreements exceeding $500,000.
With this funding, Listen Labs aims to double its client base within 18 months while maintaining 90% revenue growth. As CEO Mark Linson stated: 'We're moving beyond surveys to AI that listens like humans but analyzes like machines.'
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