B2B SaaS
Q2 202402.05.2024

Sales & Customer Service

Picture of Shubham Jaipuria

Shubham Jaipuria

at Sifted

Sales and customer service tech startups have had a prosperous 2024 so far. Investors’ enthusiasm for this industry owes much to the hype around generative AI and how it promises to introduce all kinds of efficiency gains. Case in point: Klarna. The Swedish fintech says its AI customer support assistant, in partnership with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, is doing the work of 700 human agents and has handled two-thirds of the company’s customer service queries in its first month. This change to Klarna’s customer service could boost profits by $40m in 2024, the company says..

There have been some noteworthy deals on both sides. A standout deal of the year is Berlin’s Parloa, which raised a €61.7m Series B from Altimeter Capital in April, for its customer service automation tools. On the sales side, Paris-based Catalog is helping sales employees reduce their admin burden. It secured a €3m round earlier this year from Kima Ventures.

So what does the future hold for this sector? With increasing labour shortages, current levels of customer service have become inadequate and sales processes could be enhanced. Whether it's integrating customer service automation or using tech to improve training, there is room for more adoption and startups can expect growing levels of interest.

20 startups to watch

  • Reveal logo

    Sifted score

    8.88
    -

    Reveal

    • Strong investor(s)
    • Serial founder(s)
    • Year founded

      2019

    • HQ

      Paris, France

    • Latest round

      Series A
      45.5m / Apr 2022

    • Total funding

      49.1m

  • Nintailed logo

    Sifted score

    7.83
    -

    Nintailed

    • Strong investor(s)
    • Serial founder(s)
    • Year founded

      2021

    • HQ

      Berlin, Germany

    • Latest round

      Seed
      5m / Oct 2022

    • Total funding

      5.8m

  • Cello logo

    Sifted score

    7.39
    -

    Cello

    • Strong investor(s)
    • Year founded

      2022

    • HQ

      Munich, Germany

    • Latest round

      Seed
      3.1m / Jul 2023

    • Total funding

      5.4m

  • Folk.app logo

    Sifted score

    7.35
    -

    Folk.app

    • Strong investor(s)
    • Serial founder(s)
    • Hiring
    • Year founded

      2020

    • HQ

      Paris, France

    • Latest round

      Seed
      9m / Sep 2021

    • Total funding

      9m

  • Breyta logo

    Sifted score

    7.3
    -

    Breyta

    • Serial founder(s)
    • Year founded

      2022

    • HQ

      Oslo, Norway

    • Latest round

      Seed
      4.5m / Sep 2022

    • Total funding

      8.0m

Related articles

Air Street Capital backs French defence tech Alta Ares in €50m round

June 9, 2026

Air Street Capital backs French defence tech Alta Ares in €50m round

By Daphné Leprince-Ringuet
Exclusive: Internal docs reveal Mistral valued M&A target Emmi at up to €330m

June 9, 2026

Exclusive: Internal docs reveal Mistral valued M&A target Emmi at up to €330m

By Daphné Leprince-Ringuet

Pro

Exclusive: Github and Hugging Face founders back AI agent startup Zaro’s $5.1m raise

June 9, 2026

Exclusive: Github and Hugging Face founders back AI agent startup Zaro’s $5.1m raise

Exclusive: Github and Hugging Face founders back AI agent startup Zaro’s $5.1m raise
By Freya Pratty

Pro

Agentic payments startups to watch, according to VCs
AI agentsInvestor survey

June 9, 2026

Agentic payments startups to watch, according to VCs

AI agents
By Damisola Sulaiman

Pro

UK announces new £1.1bn bet on AI infrastructure

June 8, 2026

UK announces new £1.1bn bet on AI infrastructure

The AI Hardware Plan sets out how the government will back British companies developing chips and semiconductor technologies

By Tom Nugent
Bending Spoons files for US IPO

June 8, 2026

Bending Spoons files for US IPO

The Italian M&A giant was most recently valued at $11bn

By Maya Dharampal-Hornby
PhysicsX hits $2.4bn valuation after $300m Temasek-led funding round

June 8, 2026

PhysicsX hits $2.4bn valuation after $300m Temasek-led funding round

By Martin Coulter
Want to announce your funding round? Avoid Tuesdays at all cost
Startup lifeSifted data

June 8, 2026

Want to announce your funding round? Avoid Tuesdays at all cost

Want to announce your funding round? Avoid Tuesdays at all cost
By Federico Scolari

Pro

Europe cannot remain the last herbivore in a carnivorous world
Venture capitalSifted View

June 8, 2026

Europe cannot remain the last herbivore in a carnivorous world

Headshot of John Thornhill, Sifted's cofounder and editorial director.
By John Thornhill

Pro

All female-GP firm Thena Capital raises £45m for debut healthcare fund

June 8, 2026

All female-GP firm Thena Capital raises £45m for debut healthcare fund

Thena Capital GPs
By Anne Sraders

Pro

The European investors set to win big from Anthropic’s $1tn+ IPO

June 5, 2026

The European investors set to win big from Anthropic’s $1tn+ IPO

By Anne Sraders

Pro

A ‘996’ week would be a quiet one for this spacetech founder
Startup lifeInterview

June 5, 2026

A ‘996’ week would be a quiet one for this spacetech founder

A ‘996’ week would be a quiet one for this spacetech founder
By Éanna Kelly

Pro

Top 10 investors behind the Sifted Consumer 100 ranking
Venture capitalMost active investors

June 5, 2026

Top 10 investors behind the Sifted Consumer 100 ranking

The startup ranking lists Europe’s breakout consumer tech startups by mainstream adoption, cultural momentum and global significance

By Ruggero Di Spigna

Pro

39 European startups Balderton admires outside its portfolio
List

June 5, 2026

39 European startups Balderton admires outside its portfolio

Built in Europe campaign
By Jonathan Sinclair

Pro

‘Built in Europe’: Can Balderton’s new campaign spark Europe’s vibe shift?

June 4, 2026

‘Built in Europe’: Can Balderton’s new campaign spark Europe’s vibe shift?

By Maya Dharampal-Hornby
What the EU’s new Sovereignty Package means for European tech

June 4, 2026

What the EU’s new Sovereignty Package means for European tech

A picture of EU flags at the European Commission
By Daphné Leprince-Ringuet

Pro

Revolut’s elusive cofounder steps back

June 4, 2026

Revolut’s elusive cofounder steps back

Vlad Yatsenko
By Damisola Sulaiman and Martin Coulter

Pro

Revolut to launch five credit cards in UK

June 4, 2026

Revolut to launch five credit cards in UK

UK CEO Francesca Carlesi confirms plans at Money 20/20 conference

By Martin Coulter
How bio:cap is reconnecting Europe’s life sciences ecosystem
HealthtechSponsored by

June 4, 2026

How bio:cap is reconnecting Europe’s life sciences ecosystem

How bio:cap is reconnecting Europe’s life sciences ecosystem
Sponsored by bio:cap
Inside Dwelly’s AI-powered rollup playbook
Real estateInterview

June 4, 2026

Inside Dwelly’s AI-powered rollup playbook

Inside Dwelly’s AI-powered rollup playbook
By Martin Coulter

Pro

Celonis boss: 'If we're honest, AI adoption hasn’t gone as quickly as expected’

June 4, 2026

Celonis boss: 'If we're honest, AI adoption hasn’t gone as quickly as expected’

Celonis boss: 'If we're honest, AI adoption hasn’t gone as quickly as expected’
By Éanna Kelly

Pro

Wordsmith lands $70m Series B to turbocharge legal work with AI

June 3, 2026

Wordsmith lands $70m Series B to turbocharge legal work with AI

By Martin Coulter
Factorial raises $150m Series D backed by General Catalyst and Atomico

June 3, 2026

Factorial raises $150m Series D backed by General Catalyst and Atomico

By Martin Coulter
Europe is at risk of sleepwalking into AI armageddon

June 3, 2026

Europe is at risk of sleepwalking into AI armageddon

Europe is at risk of sleepwalking into AI armageddon
By Pär-Jörgen Pärson