Artisan AI

Artisan was founded in 2023 by Jaspar Carmichael-Jack and Sam Stallings. The company’s public materials describe it as an AI employee platform that began with outbound sales.

Artisan says it launched its first AI sales agent, Ava, in February 2023. The company describes Ava as its AI BDR, initially operating with Level 1 autonomy.

Artisan is listed by Y Combinator as a W24 company, indicating participation in YC’s Winter 2024 batch. YC’s company profile describes Artisan as building AI employees that take on real work starting with sales.

Artisan announced an $11.5 million seed round led by Oliver Jung, with participation from investors including HubSpot Ventures, Y Combinator, Sequoia Scout, Soma Capital, and BOND Capital. The company said it had already reached $1 million in ARR and more than 120 customers.

In its 2024 year-end recap, Artisan said it started the year with $2 million in the bank and raised $12 million across two funding rounds during 2024. It also reported growth to 225 users and 33 employees.

Artisan announced a $25 million Series A led by Glade Brook Capital, with participation from HubSpot Ventures, Oliver Jung, Day One Ventures, BOND, Soma Capital, and others. The company said the round would support its AI employee platform and expansion beyond outbound sales.

Artisan said it hired Ming Li as chief technology officer. The company described him as previously VP of Technology at Deel and a leader of engineering teams at Rippling, TikTok, and Google.