Spiral, a Seattle startup that analyzes buyer suggestions, raises $1.25M

Seattle startup Spiral raised another $1.25 million to boost development of its AI-powered software that scours and analyzes customer feedback.

The 7-person startup was co-founded in 2018 by Elena Zhizhimontova and Andrew DiLosa. Both founders spent four years at Amazon as software engineers on the Fire TV division before launching Spiral. The company is in the process of expanding its engineering and sales team, aiming to reach a workforce of 12 by the end of the first quarter of 2023.

The startup pitches artificial intelligence software that scans multiple channels of customer feedback. This lets companies spot bugs or other issues raised by customers and quickly rectify them.

There are a bevy of other startups leveraging AI to go after a similar market. Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Unwrap, which was founded by former Amazon Alexa engineers, sells an AI-powered tool that aggregates and analyzes user feedback. It raised $3 million after going through the incubator program at Seattle’s Allen Institute for AI. Other notable players include Enterpret and Viable.

Spiral sells its tech to medium-to-large companies in the banking, fintech, connected devices and insurance industries, among others. Its software is currently being used by more than 12 clients, with “a lot of incoming customer inquiries,” Zhizhimontova told GeekWire in an email.

“We know budgets have been tightening across the board, though we see many companies actively seeking out conversion and retention-focused solutions,” she said. “They realize it’s much cheaper — and compassionate — to keep existing customers happy than try to recapture them after a churn-causing experience.”

Spiral raised $2.4 million in 2019 and was a participant in Amazon’s Alexa Accelerator program. Funders in the latest round include Bellevue, Wash.-based venture firm Trilogy Equity Partners, Techstars, Community Access Fund, angel investor Kevin Mahaffey, and AVG/Triphammer Ventures.