Strella Secures $14M to Revolutionize AI-Powered Customer Research
Strella's $14M Funding Fuels AI Interview Innovation
Strella, an emerging AI-powered customer research platform, announced today a $14 million Series A funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners. The investment round saw participation from Decibel Partners, Bain Future Back Ventures, MVP Ventures, and 645Ventures. This capital injection will fuel the expansion of Strella's groundbreaking technology that transforms how businesses gather customer feedback.
From Weeks to Days: Streamlining Customer Research
Founded by former consultants Lydia Hylton and Priya Krishnan, Strella addresses a critical pain point in market research: excessive time consumption. Traditional methods typically require:
- Writing interview guides (1-2 weeks)
- Recruiting participants (2-3 weeks)
- Scheduling and conducting interviews (2 weeks)
- Analyzing results (1 week)
"We recognized that businesses were making critical decisions based on outdated information," explained CEO Hylton. "Our AI platform compresses this eight-week process into just three days while maintaining research quality."
How Strella's Technology Works
The platform leverages voice-based AI interviews that:
- Automatically generate interview questions
- Conduct natural conversations with participants
- Record and analyze responses in real-time
- Generate actionable insights reports
Notably, early data suggests participants provide more candid feedback to AI interviewers versus human researchers—a finding that challenges conventional wisdom about human-AI interaction.
Market Traction and Client Adoption
Since launch, Strella has:
- Served 40+ enterprise clients including Amazon, Duolingo, and Chobani
- Conducted thousands of AI-hosted interviews
- Achieved 10x revenue growth in October 2025 alone
- Maintained zero customer churn
The company reports clients save an average of 90% research time while obtaining higher-quality insights compared to traditional methods.
Future Roadmap
The fresh funding will accelerate:
- Mobile app development with real-time screen sharing capabilities
- Expansion into international markets
- Enhanced natural language processing algorithms
- Integration with major CRM platforms "We're just scratching the surface of what's possible when you combine conversational AI with behavioral science," noted CTO Krishnan. --- ### Key Points: ✅ $14M Series A: Funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners ⏱️ 90% Time Savings: Reduces research cycles from weeks to days 🤖 AI Interviews: Voice-based platform yields more honest feedback 📈 Strong Traction: Serving Amazon, Duolingo with zero churn 📱 Mobile Expansion: Real-time screen sharing features coming soon
