HandymanA startup aiming to exchange traditional sales software with AI-powered virtual employees announced Monday that it has raised $11.5 million in seed funding. The company's first AI assistant, called Ava, automates many tasks typically handled by business development representatives, akin to researching leads and creating personalized outreach emails.
Founded just last yr, Artisan has already generated $1 million in annual recurring revenue with over 120 corporations using its platform. The seed round was led by Oliver Jung, with participation from Y Combinator, HubSpot Ventures, Day One Ventures and others.
“We create AI employees, called craftsmen, after which consolidate software tools to create this unified software ecosystem where AI employees manage your work and do it for you,” said Jaspar Carmichael-Jack, 23-year-old CEO and co-founder of Artisan. Founder, in an interview with VentureBeat.
How Artisan's AI assistant optimizes sales processes
Artisan's approach goals to streamline the fragmented sales software landscape. Instead of integrating multiple tools, the corporate offers a single platform that covers tasks from lead generation to email outreach. The focus is on Ava, an AI assistant who can act autonomously to seek out prospects, research corporations and write personalized messages.
“Ava finds leads for individuals who match their ICP (ideal customer profile). We have access to over 300 million different B2B lead profiles,” explained Carmichael-Jack. “Ava enriches leads using data sources like CrunchBase, Apollo, Cognism… writes emails to the leads and LinkedIn messages and automates your entire process.”
The Impact of AI on Sales Jobs: A Role Shift
Carmichael-Jack acknowledged that AI will likely replace some roles, but argued that this shift will ultimately be useful: “I feel there can be a shift from manual, repetitive, automatable roles to more human-centric roles “he said. “Humans are being shifted to more human activities.”
Artisan plans to expand beyond sales and use AI assistants for marketing and customer success in development. HubSpot's commitment as an investor signals that established software providers also see potential in AI-first approaches.
“HubSpot's support was really meaningful for us since it shows that even traditional software vendors are ready for the following software paradigm,” noted Carmichael-Jack.
The way forward for AI in business operations
As Artisan advances its AI sales assistants, the road between humans and machines within the workplace is becoming increasingly blurred. The query now isn’t whether AI will change sales, but how quickly.
For corporations, the longer term of sales could also be less about closing deals and more about selecting the precise digital companion. In this latest landscape, the perfect salesperson could be the one you never see.
