Read AI is a Seattle-based startup that offers enterprise productivity software tools powered by generative AI. Founded in 2021, the company has experienced rapid growth, adding 100,000 new accounts each week and having 75% of the Fortune 500 using its products. Despite this growth, Read AI has not spent any money on marketing. The company recently announced a $50 million Series B round, led by New York-based Smash Capital, to accelerate its growth, just six months after a separate $21 million round. Read AI’s products initially focused on measuring participant engagement and sentiment in video meetings, but have since expanded to include meeting summarization and analysis of emails and messaging threads.
Read AI’s vision goes beyond just meetings. The company aims to create a “copilot everywhere” that works across various platforms, with the ability to analyze information shared across communication channels and suggest action items based on its analysis. For example, Read AI can summarize a video call, push it into a CRM service such as HubSpot, add context to email threads by surfacing related conversations from other platforms, and draft emails based on information shared in different communication channels. The company is actively working on integrating with as many services as possible to offer predictive analytics and automate information sharing within organizations.
Read AI’s growth has been driven in part by individual users who try the product for free, find value in it, and then introduce it to their colleagues. The company’s pricing ranges from $15 to $40 per user per month, with a free tier available. While Read AI competes with tools from platform companies like Microsoft, Google, and Zoom, it differentiates itself by working across platforms and offering a comprehensive suite of AI-powered tools. The company’s competitors include startups such as Otter, Alice, and Fathom, adding to the increasingly competitive landscape of AI startups focusing on enterprise productivity software.
Investors are pouring significant funds into AI startups, leading to fierce competition in the space. Read AI’s growth and value proposition have caught the attention of investors like Matt McIlwain at Madrona and Bradley Twohig at Smash Capital, who see the company’s potential for continued success and market expansion. With about 40 employees currently, Read AI plans to double its headcount in the coming year. Shim and his co-founders, Elliott Waldron and Rob Williams, bring experience from their time at location analytics startup Placed, which was acquired by Snap for over $200 million in 2017. Overall, Read AI is well-positioned for further growth and innovation in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
