Persana AI raises $2.3 million to tap sales intelligence market growth

The startup aims to empower GTM (go to market) teams with tools that streamline workflows and drive growth in today's data-driven landscape.

The sales intelligence market size is projected to expand from $4 billion in 2024 to over $10 billion by 2032 as businesses seek optimal resources to gain a competitive edge. Persana AI is focused on capitalising on this opportunity, announcing it has raised $2.3 million in funding to accelerate the growth of its platform, which aims to empower go-to-market (GTM) teams with tools that streamline workflows and drive growth in today’s data-driven landscape.

 

Persana AI’s $2.3 million seed round attracted investment from firms including Y Combinator, Race Capital, and Stage 2 Capital, as well as support from industry experts like Dharmesh Shah, chief technology officer of HubSpot.

 

 

With this funding, Persana AI plans to enhance its platform’s capabilities, introducing specialised, task-specific autonomous agents tailored to each stage of the GTM cycle.

 

Founded by LinkedIn veterans Rush Shahani and Sriya Maram—with experience spanning Shopify, Stripe, and ElementAI—Persana AI addresses GTM challenges, such as the high costs and inefficiencies of manual data entry, research, and prospecting that hinder revenue growth.

 

“Our vision for Persana AI is to create the ultimate prospecting super app, merging advanced data consolidation with intelligent automation,” said Rush Shahani, co-founder of Persana AI. “Our platform not only saves users over 20 hours each week but also enhances conversion rates and drives pipeline growth.”

 

Despite advancements in data and artificial intelligence, GTM teams still spend 80 per cent or more of their time on manual tasks. Persana AI’s autonomous agents are powered by a robust, multi-source data consolidation model, which, according to the firm, enables enterprises to reduce sales cycle time by up to 25 per cent and boost conversion rates by 30 per cent. Deb Pratiher, co-founder at Quest Labs, commented, “Persana did in three minutes what used to take my team three weeks.”

 

Persana AI differentiates itself from competitors like Apollo, ZoomInfo, and Clay with an agent-driven approach to prospecting. While both Persana and Clay aggregate data sources, Persana said its AI agents offer a superior level of insight and automation.

 

“By advancing our AI and machine learning infrastructure, we enable GTM teams to scale effortlessly, shifting their focus to strategic customer relationships and growth,” said Sriya Maram, co-founder and chief executive officer of Persana AI.

 

Edith Yeung, general partner at Race Capital, noted that Rush Shahani and Sriya Maram previously developed technologies that scaled to billions at LinkedIn, solving complex data challenges with advanced AI and search capabilities. “Customers at fast-growing enterprises are thrilled with Persana, as their sales teams experience increased productivity and efficiency in prospecting efforts,” said Yeung.