SiftHub, a startup in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) founded by Manisha Raisinghani, the former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and co-founder of LogiNext, has secured $5.5 million in seed funding. The primary objective of this funding is to further develop its AI assistant, designed to assist sales and presales teams in focusing on relationship-building rather than mundane tasks.
The core functionality of SiftHub’s generative AI assistant is aimed at streamlining non-sales activities typically handled by sales personnel. These tasks include data entry into Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, creating requests for proposals (RFPs), conducting customer research, and developing presentation materials. SiftHub seamlessly integrates with various information sources such as Google Drive, Slack, Zendesk, HubSpot, and Salesforce. Sales and presales teams can interact with the AI assistant through platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams, utilizing it to complete activities such as information security questionnaires, vendor assessments, RFP submissions, and requests for information (RFI) forms. Notably, the AI assistant supports 10 languages, including Spanish and German.
Raisinghani emphasized the importance of sales professionals dedicating more time to nurturing relationships with clients, which directly impacts revenue generation. By leveraging SiftHub’s AI assistant, companies can reduce the need for extensive presales teams to handle technical aspects, ultimately saving time and positively affecting the bottom line.
The AI assistant developed by SiftHub leverages open-source large language models (LLMs) and is enhanced by retrieval augmented generation (RAG) technology. This approach utilizes additional data sources to refine the quality of content generated by the AI, effectively addressing issues like hallucinations often associated with generative AI. Furthermore, SiftHub employs cross-encoders to ensure accurate responses by analyzing two queries simultaneously rather than individually.
In addition to these features, SiftHub incorporates a “smart search algorithm” that prioritizes recent documents or knowledge sources to provide up-to-date and relevant information to users.
Having identified the challenges faced during her advisory role at a blockchain startup, Raisinghani recognized the need for a comprehensive solution like SiftHub. Through extensive user feedback and research, she narrowed down the focus to sales and presales teams, acknowledging their crucial role in the sales process.
The competitive landscape in the AI startup arena targeting sales and presales operations has been evolving rapidly. While several companies have introduced AI-powered tools to simplify various sales tasks, SiftHub distinguishes itself by integrating deeply into customers’ business workflows, offering a holistic solution to sales response challenges.
With a strong team of 15 individuals, including former entrepreneurs, and Raisinghani’s expertise in scaling startups, SiftHub is poised for growth and innovation. The recent funding round, co-led by Matrix Partners India and Blume Ventures, with participation from other key industry players, will primarily fuel product R&D efforts, team expansion, and market penetration.
Initially focusing on Business-to-Business (B2B) companies catering to mid-market and enterprise clients, SiftHub is currently in the early feedback phase with a select group of users. A full-scale launch is planned for later this year, offering a promising solution to the evolving demands of modern sales environments.
