6sense Founder Launches AI Sales Startup 1mind with $30M Funding

The Rise of AI Sales Agents: 1mind Secures $30 Million

Large language model (LLM)-powered AI agents are gaining traction, and the sales sector is witnessing significant adoption. 1mind, a startup established by Amanda Kahlow, has been developing and deploying its sales agent, known as Mindy, for approximately one year.

Series A Funding and Company Growth

Recently, 1mind announced a $30 million Series A funding round, spearheaded by Battery Ventures. This investment elevates the company’s total funding to $40 million, according to official statements.

Founder's Background and Expertise

Amanda Kahlow is a recognized figure in the sales and marketing technology landscape. She previously founded and served as CEO of 6sense, a lead-generation platform launched in 2013. 6sense utilized signal tracking across various online platforms to pinpoint potential customers before Kahlow’s departure in 2020.

Differentiating 1mind from Competitors

The sales agent market is becoming increasingly competitive. However, 1mind distinguishes itself by focusing on inbound sales interactions, rather than the prevalent strategies of email campaigns and cold calling. Unlike many competitors, including Kahlow’s former company, 6sense, 1mind doesn’t prioritize outbound outreach.

Mindy's Role in the Sales Process

Mindy is designed to manage inbound sales processes, capable of guiding interactions all the way to deal closure. Kahlow envisions Mindy as a tool to enhance self-service websites and to substitute the role of a sales engineer during complex enterprise sales discussions. Furthermore, it can function as an onboarding specialist for new clients.

“Our objective is to faithfully replicate the human experience in go-to-market scenarios when buyers demonstrate intent – when they visit your website or participate in a Zoom call,” Kahlow explained. “Mindy can seamlessly integrate into these interactions, acting as a sales engineer.”

"Superhuman" AI Agents and Knowledge Base

Kahlow refers to her AI agents as “superhumans,” acknowledging their capacity to process and utilize a vast knowledge base. This encompasses comprehensive details about a company’s products, technical specifications, and competitive positioning.

Deterministic AI and Hallucination Mitigation

1mind employs a combination of large language models, including OpenAI and Google Gemini. To minimize inaccuracies, the agent utilizes deterministic AI, which provides guardrails to ensure consistent responses based on ingested corporate sales materials. Mindy is also programmed to acknowledge when it lacks an answer.

Current Adoption and Contract Value

After a year of operation, 1mind is currently utilized by over 30 companies, including prominent names like HubSpot, LinkedIn, and New Relic. Kahlow reports that all of the company’s named customers have committed to annual contracts, with an average contract value exceeding six figures.

Internal Use and Avatar Representation

The company also leverages Mindy internally for its own sales calls. Kahlow has taken this a step further by creating an AI avatar of herself, “Amanda,” which she uses during venture capital pitches.

VC Due Diligence and Conversation Design

During Battery Ventures’ due diligence process, the Amanda avatar was used to analyze data room materials and pose questions about case studies. Battery partner Neeraj Agrawal highlighted the nuanced conversation design and the observation that customers often forgot they were interacting with an AI.

Public Interaction and Brand Advocacy

The Amanda avatar remains accessible through Kahlow’s LinkedIn profile, allowing the public to engage with it. It can address inquiries about 1mind’s offerings and even discuss Kahlow’s perspectives on being a woman in technology. However, the avatar consistently steers conversations back to 1mind.

Future Implications for Sales Roles

Kahlow anticipates that agentic sales startups like 1mind will eventually replace higher-level account executive roles, or at least fundamentally alter them.

“We haven’t reached the point of fully replacing the AE yet. We’re replacing the website, the sales engineer, and customer success, but the AE/customer relationship remains intact,” she stated. “However, I believe much of the AE’s current workload will diminish over time.”

Trust and Agent-to-Agent Interactions

Kahlow attributes this to a current lack of trust. Buyers are hesitant to finalize large enterprise deals without human involvement. However, she envisions a future where trust is established, leading to agent-to-agent transactions involving information exchange rather than human avatars.

Current Team and Expansion

Currently, 1mind employs 44 individuals, including a sales team, and has 71 open positions, including roles for account executives.

Investor Participation

The funding round included participation from Primary Ventures, Wing Venture Capital, Operator Collective, Harmonic Growth Partners, and Success Venture Partners, alongside angel investors from companies like Monday.com, ZoomInfo, Databricks, Box, Gong, Braze, and Verkada.