Othello, an applied AI lab based in New York, has raised US$8 million in Seed funding to advance artificial intelligence models for live sales calls. The round was led by a16z speedrun and included participation from Owl Capital and Long Journey Ventures, with angel backing from DoorDash co-founder Andy Fang, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, and Hugging Face co-founder Thomas Wolf. The company provides real-time coaching that overlays on meetings and guides sales representatives while buyers are still on the line.
Real-Time AI for Live Sales Calls
Othello overlays on top of any dialer or video calling platform and offers subtle pop-ups without joining as a participant. Its proprietary model, Hamlet, powers live coaching with suggestions delivered in under 500 milliseconds. The desktop app starts when a call begins and provides in-call coaching to help representatives improve performance during live conversations.
Addressing a Missing Layer in Sales Technology
Jared Zelman, co-founder and CEO of Othello, said there is a great deal of technology before a conversation and after it ends, but almost nothing that affects how a representative performs during the call. He described this challenge as an AI problem rather than a software problem. According to Zelman, the only way to deliver smart recommendations in real time with full deal context is to train AI models specifically for live sales calls.
What Othello Delivers During Calls
During each live conversation, Othello provides suggestions and meeting prompts that tell representatives which discovery question to ask next. It highlights missed MEDDPICC, Challenger, or playbook steps, helps answer product and technical questions, and supports objection handling, competitor positioning, and case study selection. The platform also indicates when a buyer is ready to move forward, giving teams actionable guidance without disrupting the conversation.
Investor Support and Leadership
The Seed round was led by a16z speedrun, with participation from Owl Capital and Long Journey Ventures. Angel investors include Sentry co-founder David Cramer, Writer co-founder Waseem AlShikh, Axonius co-founder Dean Sysman, Deel co-founders Alex and Philippe Bouaziz, and TransDigm CEO Kevin Stein. These backers join early supporters such as DoorDash co-founder Andy Fang, Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, and Hugging Face co-founder Thomas Wolf, reflecting broad confidence in the company's applied AI approach.
Enterprise Adoption and Customer Momentum
Othello is currently deployed at more than 50 large enterprises, including several Fortune 500 companies across insurance, accounting, financial services, asset management, enterprise software, cybersecurity, healthcare, manufacturing, and professional services. Its customer list includes Microsoft, Capital One, Lyft, a top 10 accounting firm, and a top 10 asset manager. The company adds several new multinational enterprise customers each week, indicating expanding demand across a range of industries.
Market Outlook and Rep Adoption
Licensed representatives typically adopt Othello within a week of downloading the app, and they use it on 95% or more of their calls. The company also points to Gartner research predicting that by 2028, 60% of B2B seller work will be executed through conversational user interfaces, up from less than 5% in 2023. This shift suggests that real-time AI tools like Othello could become an increasingly important part of enterprise sales workflows.
Othello is positioning itself as an applied AI lab focused specifically on live sales calls, with its Hamlet model and a growing base of enterprise users. The US$8 million Seed round provides capital to continue developing real-time coaching capabilities and expand its customer footprint. With early traction at large organizations and strong investor support, Othello aims to shape how sales teams perform during live customer conversations.