Hightouch and Netomi: AI Redefines Marketing Funding

The Rise of AI in Sales and Marketing

The sales and marketing sector is undergoing a transformation thanks to the integration of artificial intelligence (AI). While not everyone is a salesperson, each of us becomes a customer at some point, and we have all witnessed the evolution of advertising, marketing, and customer experience management technologies. These technologies have become sophisticated enough to influence our purchasing decisions.

Startups and their investors see opportunities for improvement in this area. As a result, billions of dollars have been invested in recent quarters in AI-focused companies seeking to enhance efficiency through agentic tools in their respective niches.

Trends in Venture Capital Funding

Venture capital funding in the sales, marketing, and CRM categories peaked cyclically in 2021 and 2022. However, since then, investment has significantly slowed, with annual funding stabilizing around $8 billion over the past three years, according to Crunchbase. Despite this slowdown, AI-focused companies continue to capture a larger share of funding compared to previous periods.

In 2026, companies in the sales, marketing, and CRM categories attracted approximately $2.7 billion in funding, ranging from the startup to growth phase. This figure remains stable compared to the previous three years but is well below the levels reached during the boom era, when investment in sales and marketing exceeded $20 billion.

Recent Fundraising

The past few weeks have been particularly active in terms of funding. Hightouch, a San Francisco-based company specializing in agentic marketing, recently raised $150 million in a Series D round led by Goldman Sachs and Bain Capital Ventures. This funding round values the company at $2.75 billion. Hightouch uses AI agents to conduct audience research, generate branded content, and run digital marketing campaigns.

Netomi, another notable startup, secured $110 million for its agentic customer experience platform, targeting companies operating in high-stakes regulated environments. This funding round was led by Accenture Ventures.

Actively, a New York startup, also raised $45 million in its Series B, co-led by TCV and First Harmonic. The company is developing agentic AI tools for go-to-market teams.

The Largest Funding Round of the Year

The largest funding round of the year for the marketing and CRM sector was conducted by Parloa, a Berlin-based company. In January, Parloa raised $350 million in a Series D round led by General Catalyst, bringing its valuation to $3 billion. Parloa specializes in managing AI agents for corporate customer service.

Mergers, Acquisitions, and IPOs

The sector has also seen significant movements in terms of mergers and acquisitions. Two weeks ago, Adyen announced the acquisition of Talon.One, a loyalty and incentives platform for merchants, for approximately $880 million. Talon, based in Berlin, had previously raised over $120 million in venture capital funding.

Another significant transaction was NICE Systems' purchase of Cognigy, a conversational AI platform for customer support, in a deal valuing the latter at around $955 million.

Regarding initial public offerings, activity has remained moderate. MNTN Performance, a platform allowing brands to launch television ads, debuted a year ago and is currently trading well below its post-IPO price. The market for enterprise software IPOs has remained quiet, partly due to investor concerns about the impact of AI on SaaS business models.

AI-focused startups, although still young, show promising potential to transform the landscape of marketing and sales, with prospects for future exits.