Amazon, Chobani use Strella's AI interview platform as startup raises $14M
When Amazon rolled out its latest research toolkit, I noticed they’d added Strella’s AI-driven interview platform - and Chobani did the same. They’re not the only ones; Duolingo and Apollo GraphQL are already on the list. Strella claims the service now runs thousands of AI-moderated interviews and cuts the time needed by about 90 % compared with doing everything by hand.
“We view Strella as doing that middle 90 % of the work,” a spokesperson told us, pointing to the idea that most of the heavy lifting is automated. The numbers sound good, but they come from the company’s own reporting, not an independent audit. The startup just closed a $14 million financing round, though who put the money in remains vague.
The cash is meant to help scale the platform, yet it’s hard to say how fast new customers will jump on board. Still, the move suggests big brands are willing to try AI for faster feedback loops, even if they keep a human eye on the final analysis.
We view Strella as doing that middle 90% of the work." The platform now serves Amazon, Duolingo, Apollo GraphQL, and Chobani, collectively conducting thousands of AI-moderated interviews that deliver what the company claims is a 90% average time savings on manual research work. The company is approaching $1 million in revenue after beginning monetization only in January, with month-over-month growth of 50% and zero customer churn to date. How AI-powered interviews compress eight-week research projects into days Strella's technology addresses a workflow that has frustrated product teams, marketers, and designers for decades.
Traditional customer research requires writing interview guides, recruiting participants, scheduling calls, conducting interviews, taking notes, synthesizing findings, and creating presentations — a process that consumes weeks of highly-skilled labor and often delays critical product decisions. The platform compresses that timeline to days by using AI to moderate voice-based interviews that run like Zoom calls, but with an artificial intelligence agent asking questions, following up on interesting responses, and detecting when participants are being evasive or fraudulent.
Strella just closed a $14 million Series A, with Bessemer Venture Partners leading the round, and it already counts Amazon, Chobani, Duolingo and Apollo GraphQL among its customers. Those clients say they’ve run thousands of AI-moderated interviews and that the tool trims manual research time by about 90 percent. The company sums it up as “doing that middle 90 % of the work,” which shows the ambition behind the platform.
Still, the proof so far comes mostly from internal numbers; we haven’t seen an independent study confirming the time-savings claim. The new funding is slated for scaling the service, but it’s unclear how fast Strella can grow without the quality of interviews slipping. Investors seem upbeat - Decibel Partners, Bain Future Back Ventures, MVP Ventures and 645 Ventures all took a stake.
Whether the approach will catch on in a wider range of research settings will hinge on measurable results that haven’t been released yet.
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Common Questions Answered
Which major companies have adopted Strella's AI interview platform?
Amazon, Chobani, Duolingo, and Apollo GraphQL have all adopted Strella's AI-driven interview platform for their customer-research needs. These companies are now part of the startup's growing client roster, utilizing the service to conduct thousands of AI-moderated interviews.
What time savings does Strella claim its AI-moderated interviews deliver?
Strella claims its service delivers a 90% average time savings compared to manual research work. This significant efficiency gain is achieved by automating the majority of the interview process, which the company refers to as 'the middle 90% of the work'.
What recent funding milestone did Strella achieve?
Strella recently closed a $14 million Series A funding round, which was led by Bessemer Venture Partners. This investment supports the startup's growth as it expands its client base and enhances its AI interview platform.
How has Strella's revenue performed since beginning monetization?
Since beginning monetization in January, Strella is approaching $1 million in revenue with a month-over-month growth rate of 50%. The company also reports zero customer churn to date, indicating strong client retention and satisfaction.