Sierra, led by Bret Taylor, achieves $100M ARR in less than two years.

Sierra, the San Francisco-based startup established 21 months ago that develops AI customer service agents for businesses, revealed on Friday it has hit $100 million in annual revenue run rate (ARR). The company’s quick expansion hints at a widespread adoption of AI agents among businesses in various sectors.

Even the experienced co-founders of the startup, Bret Taylor, formerly co-CEO of Salesforce, and Clay Bavor, a longtime Google veteran, were taken aback by the growth rate. They noted on their blog: “That’s a heck of a lot quicker than we expected.”

Sierra’s clientele includes tech firms like Deliveroo, Discord, Ramp, Rivian, SoFi, and Tubi, alongside more conventional businesses beyond tech, such as ADT, Bissell, Vans, Cigna, and SiriusXM.

Taylor and Bavor mentioned they anticipated tech companies to be more open to experimenting with AI customer service agents but were surprised that more established businesses also became Sierra’s clients.

According to the company, its AI agents can handle tasks such as authenticating patients for healthcare organizations, managing returns, ordering replacement credit cards, and assisting customers in applying for mortgages — essentially automating customer service functions that previously needed human agents.

Sierra faces competition from startups such as Decagon and Intercom, yet it asserts its dominance in the AI customer service space.

Sierra was most recently valued at $10 billion following a $350 million funding round led by Greenoaks Capital in September. Other investors in the company include Sequoia, Benchmark, ICONIQ, and Thrive Capital.

With a $100 million ARR, Sierra is presently valued at a 100x revenue multiple, a substantial valuation despite its remarkably rapid expansion.

The startup uses an outcomes-based pricing structure, billing customers for completed tasks instead of charging fixed subscription fees.

Taylor and Bavor first crossed paths at Google in 2005, where Taylor brought Bavor on board as an associate product manager.

Taylor, a computer science graduate from Stanford, co-created Google Maps before establishing FriendFeed, which Facebook later acquired. At Facebook, he held the position of CTO and played a key role in creating the iconic “Like” button. He then founded Quip, a Google Docs rival that Salesforce bought for $750 million in 2016.

Taylor went on to serve as co-CEO of Salesforce with Marc Benioff for over a year. Following Taylor’s departure from Salesforce in 2023, Bavor — who dedicated 18 years at Google leading products such as Gmail and Google Drive — invited him to lunch, where they decided to establish Sierra.