- Clay supports revenue operations and growth teams to automate outreach to potential customers.
- The company last raised a $46 million Series B at a $500 million valuation led by Meritech in June.
- Its customers include Anthropic, Notion, Vanta, Ramp, and Intercom.
Clay, the AI-powered sales startup, is set to be valued at $1.3 billion in a new funding round, two sources told Business Insider. Existing investors participated in the round, according to the same sources.
Founded in 2017, Clay last raised a $46 million Series B at a $500 million valuation, which was led by Meritech Capital in June. Sequoia Capital, First Round Capital, Box Group, and Boldstart Ventures participated in that round. Investors have been clamoring to back up-and-coming AI startups this year, sometimes investing in companies within a few months of the last round.
Details of the latest funding round are not yet finalized, and the figures involved are subject to change.
In response to a request for comment from Business Insider, Clay CEO Kareem Amin said, “We cannot confirm these details as no term sheet has been issued or signed.”
According to its website, Clay supports revenue operations and aids growth teams in automating outreach to potential customers. The company helps teams build a sales lead list with customer data. With over 75 data providers, Clay says it helps its customers tailor outreach with more detailed information on potential customers, such as a company’s headcount and fundraising history.
Clay’s AI agent also supports research around prospects. The “Claygent” can answer questions about target companies based on company domains, such as details about its competitors. Clay’s AI messaging tool can then help sales teams send tailored outbound messages to prospective customers.
The company lists Anthropic, Notion, Vanta, Ramp, and Intercom as customers on its website.
Before founding Clay, Amin was the vice president of product at The Wall Street Journal. He also successfully sold his e-commerce optimization startup, Frame, to Sailthru, a marketing personalization startup, and became the latter company’s director of engineering. Clay’s cofounder, Varun Anand, is the head of operations and previously worked at startups Newfront and Candid.
Clay is not the only company focused on this category. Apollo, a sales intelligence startup, raised a $100 million Series D round led by Bain Capital Ventures last year at a $1.6 billion valuation. Other startups include Thrive-backed Unify and Lusha, which was last valued at $1.5 billion.
