The crowded world of AI sales reps just got a shake-up. Actively AI, a New York-based startup founded in 2022, has raised $22.5 million to rethink how companies use artificial intelligence in their sales operations—ditching the classic “volume-first” AI sales rep approach that’s failed to deliver real results.
In a market brimming with billboard slogans like “Stop Hiring Humans” (Artisan) and “Hire Piper, the AI SDR” (Qualified), Actively AI is steering in a different direction. Rather than flooding inboxes or cold-calling thousands of leads, the startup uses AI reasoning to help sales teams prioritize their best opportunities—what it calls sales superintelligence.
Why Traditional AI SDRs Missed the Mark
Co-founder Anshul Gupta is blunt about the state of AI in sales. “These AI sales reps have failed,” he recently said. The problem? Many of these tools focus purely on outreach volume rather than intelligent targeting. In other words, they blast messages rather than making smart decisions about who to contact.
Actively AI wants to fix that. Instead of generic outreach, the startup builds custom AI reasoning models that sift through internal sales data to identify high-value prospects—mirroring the nuanced decision-making of top-performing human sales reps.
A Reasoning-Led Strategy for Smarter Sales
The company’s AI doesn’t just automate tasks; it actively reasons through them. This new wave of “reasoning models” has gained traction in the AI world, with models now being designed to explain their logic and double-check their own outputs. It’s this intelligence layer that Actively believes will separate it from the rest of the pack.
CEO and co-founder Mihir Garimella calls it “GTM Superintelligence”—a go-to-market strategy that combines automation with decision-making capabilities to drive actual growth. “It doesn’t just assist—it makes the best possible choices,” Garimella said in a statement.
Powering Revenue for Clients Like Ramp
Actively AI says its reasoning-driven system is already proving its worth. One of its early clients, fintech company Ramp, reportedly generated tens of millions in additional revenue using the platform. Though Actively hasn’t disclosed its own annual recurring revenue (ARR), it claims a 10x growth in just nine months.
The tech behind the platform includes a mix of in-house models and leading reasoning tools from OpenAI and Anthropic. Both Garimella and Gupta studied AI at Stanford, with Garimella focusing on active learning, a subfield tied closely to reasoning-based AI—hence the startup’s name.
Backing From Major VC Players
The startup’s approach has attracted serious investor attention. Actively AI just closed a $17.5 million Series A round led by Bain Capital Ventures. That follows a previously undisclosed $5 million seed round from First Round Capital, bringing its total funding to $22.5 million.
With investors now placing bigger bets on reasoning models beyond core AI labs like OpenAI and DeepSeek, Actively’s raise signals broader momentum for startups applying this tech to real-world problems.
Just last week, for instance, YC-backed Taxo secured $5 million for a reasoning engine designed to cut healthcare paperwork, and it already hit $1 million ARR within six months.
Is Reasoning the Future of AI Sales?
Despite the buzz, it’s still early days for reasoning-first sales tech. The broader market has only just begun embracing reasoning models, especially following DeepSeek’s breakthroughs late last year.
But if Actively AI can deliver on its promise of sales superintelligence, it could pave the way for a smarter, less spammy future for AI sales tools—one where quality finally beats quantity.
