Parloa Secures $66M Funding to Enhance Conversational AI for Customer Service Solutions

Conversational AI platform Parloa Secures $66 Million in Series B Funding for Expansion

Parloa, a leading conversational AI platform, has successfully raised $66 million in its Series B funding round, following a previous $21 million investment from a consortium of European investors aimed at fueling its global expansion.

The German-based company is particularly targeting growth in the U.S. market, having opened a New York office last year. This strategic move has allowed Parloa to onboard several Fortune 200 companies in the region. The latest funding round sees Altimeter Capital as the lead investor, a prominent U.S.-based venture capital firm known for its investments in renowned companies like Uber, Airbnb, and Twilio.

While AI and automation in customer service are not new trends, the emergence of advanced large language models (LLMs) and generative AI infrastructure is revitalizing investor interest in sophisticated “conversational” AI solutions—moving beyond conventional chatbots. Established companies continue to attract significant funding; for instance, Kore.ai recently secured a substantial $150 million investment. Meanwhile, former Salesforce CEO Bret Taylor launched a new customer experience platform, Sierra, focused on “AI agents,” raising over $100 million from venture capital.

Parloa is poised to leverage the current surge of interest surrounding the integration of AI across various sectors, as enterprises look for innovative methods to enhance operational efficiency through automation. Founded in 2018, Parloa has already attracted high-profile clients, including the European insurance leader Swiss Life and retail giant Decathlon, both leveraging Parloa's platform to automate customer interactions through emails and instant messaging.

Co-founder and CEO Malte Kosub emphasizes that Parloa's unique strength lies in its focus on voice technology. "Our strategy has always prioritized ‘voice first,’ which we believe is the most critical element of customer experience," Kosub shared in an email. "As a result, our AI-driven voice interactions sound more human than any other solution available."

Co-founder and CTO Stefan Ostwald adds that AI has been integral to Parloa's foundation since its inception six years ago. The company employs a combination of proprietary and open-source LLMs to develop models tailored for speech-to-text applications. "We have trained various speech-to-text models on phone audio quality and customer service scenarios. Additionally, we've built a custom telephony infrastructure to reduce latency—a significant hurdle in voice automation—along with a proprietary LLM agent framework to enhance customer service," Ostwald explained.

With a previous total of approximately $25 million raised during its Series A round last year, Parloa is now well-capitalized with an additional $66 million to accelerate its growth in both Europe and the U.S. Kosub noted the company has tripled its revenue for three consecutive years, highlighting its robust performance.

“We successfully entered the U.S. market in 2023. We have always believed in the quality and competitiveness of our product, but the rapid success we've experienced in the U.S. has exceeded our expectations,” Kosub stated.

In addition to lead investor Altimeter, Parloa's Series B funding includes contributions from EQT Ventures, Newion, Senovo, Mosaic Ventures, and La Familia Growth. The latest round brings Parloa's total funding to $98 million, following its earlier $21 million Series A led by EQT Ventures in 2023.