US — TechCrunch
AI assistant startup Town nabs unicorn valuation four months after launch
AI1 min read
Town, a young AI assistant startup from San Francisco, raised a $108 million Series B round and became a "unicorn" (a private company valued at $1 billion or more). It did this just four months after launching to the public.
What happened
Town announced a $108 million funding round on Monday. Forerunner Ventures and Menlo Ventures led it. Town builds AI assistants for businesses. Each employee gets an AI helper called a Townie. A Townie can connect to tools like email and calendars to help with tasks. Town also said Townies can now talk to each other, share approved information, and work with customers outside the company.
Key numbers
- Funding round: $108 million (Series B)
- Total raised so far: at least $160 million
- Earlier round: $55 million (Series A) in June
- Company age: about 2 years old
- Time since public launch: about 4 months
Background
Town was founded by Jean-Denis Greze, who was once the chief technology officer (CTO, the leader in charge of a company's technology) at Plaid. Many companies now offer AI assistants, so the market is crowded. Town also announced a shared workflow. This tool updates every employee's Townie with new business information automatically, so workers do not have to update their own Townie one by one.
Why it matters
Investors are willing to pay a lot for AI tools that businesses use right away. Town's fast growth in revenue and its unicorn valuation show strong interest in AI helpers for work. Because the market is full of competitors, Town will need to prove its tools stay useful for companies.
What to watch
- Whether Town's revenue keeps growing after its fast start
- How well Townies work with customers outside the company
- Whether the shared workflow saves businesses time
- How Town competes with the many other AI assistant companies
Glossary
- Town
- A San Francisco startup that makes AI assistants called Townies for businesses.
- Townie
- Town's name for the AI assistant that each employee gets.
- unicorn
- A private startup valued at $1 billion or more.
- Series B
- A later funding round where a startup raises money from investors.
- Plaid
- A company that connects apps to people's bank accounts; Town's founder was its CTO.