Zeliq, a pioneering AI sales solution provider based in Paris, has successfully raised €9.2 million in a seed financing round. The funding was led by Exor Ventures, the investment arm of Italy’s Agnelli family, renowned for its stakes in French unicorns Qonto and Alan. Resonance VC, an investor from Zeliq’s pre-seed stage, also participated in this oversubscribed round. This latest injection brings Zeliq’s total funds to $15.4 million, an impressive feat considering the startup only launched a year ago.
Revolutionizing Sales Management with AI
Zeliq addresses a significant challenge for B2B tech companies: the fragmented and inefficient sales management process. By integrating the entire sales toolstack into a single platform, Zeliq eliminates the need for businesses to juggle multiple tools. This streamlined approach allows companies to conduct highly targeted virtual sales with greater ease and efficiency.
The company was founded by Dorian Ciavarella, the mastermind behind the influencer platform Hivency, which was acquired by SaaS solutions provider Skeepers in a multi-million euro deal. Ciavarella, alongside former Hivency CFO Guillaume Cruz, leveraged his extensive experience and insights as an angel investor to identify and solve the prevalent issues in sales lead management.
A Comprehensive AI-driven Solution
Zeliq’s co-founder and CEO, Dorian Ciavarella, articulated the company’s mission: “We’re on a mission to make sales easy. Most businesses are hindered by the inefficiencies and costs associated with using multiple sales tools for prospecting, outreach, team management and closing a deal. This makes managing the sales cycle needlessly complicated and often overwhelming, and reduces the time sales reps can spend on actually selling. Zeliq solves this problem with an all-in-one solution that consolidates these functions into a single platform. We’ve mapped out the most efficient way for business developers to work, giving teams the automation they need to close deals faster.”
Zeliq’s platform is equipped to identify sales prospects, profile LinkedIn users, automate sales workflows, and utilize AI to analyze personalities, strategize, and generate personalized outreach messages. It boasts an extensive database of over 450 million potential buyers, the largest in any European sales platform. This versatile solution is beneficial not only for sales teams but also for marketers and solo entrepreneurs.
Rapid Growth and Future Ambitions
Despite minimal marketing expenditure, Zeliq has amassed over 2000 users globally in less than a year. Its customer base is diverse, with 50% in France, 25% in the US, and the remaining 25% spread worldwide. The recent funding will primarily support Zeliq’s expansion in the US market, enhancing its marketing efforts, product development, and team growth beyond its current 35 employees.
Noam Ohana and Michael Lavner from Exor Ventures commented on their investment: “Over the last few years we have seen go-to-market bloat shoot up as a result of an overly complex sales stack and an explosion of sales tools available. At Exor Ventures we are convinced that a new wave of AI-enabled solutions – favouring a ‘sales-in-a-box’ approach – is the only way to solve what remains today one of the biggest challenges for companies. We were vastly impressed by Dorian and Guillaume’s drive and fresh take on the market: bringing all sales data and tools under one solution, simplifying the tech stack and augmenting sales and marketing staff in ways unseen to date.”
Personal Perspective
From my point of view, Zeliq’s approach represents a significant step forward in sales management. The consolidation of various tools into a single, AI-powered platform addresses a critical pain point for many businesses, simplifying processes and reducing inefficiencies. By automating routine tasks and providing insightful data, Zeliq enables sales teams to focus more on strategic activities and building relationships with potential clients.
However, the challenge lies in maintaining this momentum and effectively scaling the business, especially in the competitive US market. The substantial funding and backing from prominent investors like Exor Ventures and Resonance VC undoubtedly bolster Zeliq’s prospects, but the true test will be in how they execute their expansion plans and continue to innovate in the rapidly evolving field of AI and sales technology.
In conclusion, Zeliq’s impressive early success and innovative approach position it as a potential game-changer in the sales tech landscape. With its robust AI capabilities and a clear focus on simplifying the sales process, Zeliq is well-equipped to make a significant impact in the market.
