German AI startup Parloa triples valuation to $3 billion in latest fundraise

Jan 15 (Reuters) - German startup Parloa has raised $350 million in a late-stage round that tripled the valuation of the artificial intelligence-driven customer ​service platform to $3 billion in less than a year.

The Series D ‌round, announced on Thursday, was led by General Catalyst and joined by existing investors such as ‌EQT Ventures, Altimeter Capital and Durable Capital Partners.

It takes the startup's total fundraise to more than $560 million, including a $120 million Series C in July 2025 where it was valued at $1 billion.

The eight-year-old firm is among the startups developing an AI ⁠platform that can automate customer ‌service for large enterprises with little to no coding, including tasks such as tracking packages and processing returns.

Parloa said its ‍customers include Microsoft, Accenture, KPMG and Booking.com, and its annual recurring revenue has surpassed $50 million.

"In 2025, everyone finally realized … it (AI for customer service) is actually working, like this is ​a case that has proven to be a positive return on investment ‌case," co-founder and CEO Malte Kosub said in an interview.

Businesses looking to cut costs and deal with rising customer queries have been turning to AI-powered voice agents to handle customer service, driving demand and investor interest in startups developing the technology.

However, the roll-out has not always been smooth. Swedish buy-now, pay-later ⁠Klarna said last year it might have ​gone too far in using the technology, having ​cut thousands of jobs, dropped some vendors and turned to AI to create marketing campaigns.

Parloa plans to use the fresh funds ‍to expand in Europe ⁠and the U.S., including opening new offices in San Francisco and Madrid. It already has a presence in Berlin and New York.

The company ⁠also plans to increase its headcount to 600 from 380 by the end of 2026, with ‌hiring focused both on developers and sales staff.

(Reporting by Aditya ‌Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)