Strella, an AI-driven customer research platform, has raised $14 million in Series A funding, as announced on Thursday. The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Decibel Partners, Bain Future Back Ventures, MVP Ventures, and 645 Ventures. This funding comes amid a growing trend for businesses adopting artificial intelligence to deepen customer insights more rapidly than traditional methods allow.
Founded by Lydia Hylton and Priya Krishnan, former consultants who recognized inefficiencies in customer research that could take eight weeks, Strella has demonstrated notable growth. The company has increased its revenue tenfold and quadrupled its customer base, now serving over 40 enterprises, including Amazon and Chobani, while achieving a monthly growth rate of 50%.
Strella’s platform seeks to expedite the customer research process by employing AI at its core. The technology facilitates voice-based interviews moderated by an AI agent, handling much of the research workflow—from prompting questions to synthesizing responses. According to Hylton, this innovative approach significantly reduces the timeline for research projects from weeks to just a few days. Human moderators can still participate in interviews, maintaining a balance between technology and human oversight.
An intriguing aspect of Strella’s findings is that participants reportedly disclose more honest feedback when interacting with AI moderators than with humans. This trend presents practical benefits for companies by yielding deeper insights more quickly. Additionally, the platform addresses fraud detection by monitoring real-time interactions during interviews.
The funding will also support the expansion of Strella’s recently launched mobile application, which includes features like persistent screen sharing, allowing researchers to observe user interactions with mobile applications during interviews. This capability aims to unlock new research practices, particularly for consumer-facing companies.
As the field of UX research evolves, the founders argue that they are not just automating existing research processes but are also paving the way for new methodologies. With the potential for substantial growth in the market, the company emphasizes its commitment to democratizing access to customer feedback and enhancing the research experience across the organization.
Source: https://venturebeat.com/ai/amazon-and-chobani-adopt-strellas-ai-interviews-for-customer-research-as