Startups utilizing AI for sales representatives have become increasingly prevalent in the current market. While traveling to San Francisco from the airport, one may notice billboards advertising the ability to “Stop Hiring Humans” (Artisan) or promoting the hiring of “Piper, the AI SDR” (Qualified). Although some of these startups are experiencing rapid growth, the industry faces challenges and some venture capitalists are cautious. 

Anshul Gupta, co-founder of Actively AI, acknowledges that the initial versions of these AI sales tools have not met expectations. Gupta believes that traditional AI sales representatives are not the correct approach, stating that they have “failed” by focusing too much on “pure volume” – contacting as many potential customers as possible.

Founded in 2022, Actively AI claims to have a distinct approach. The startup develops customized “reasoning” models for companies to analyze their data and identify the most valuable prospects to sell to, mirroring the work of top human sales representatives. 

This approach leverages reasoning technology, a technique that has gained popularity in the AI world by requiring AI models to elaborate on their logic and verify their work.

Actively claims that this method is effective, citing that it has helped clients such as fintech Ramp generate tens of millions of dollars in additional revenue.

The New York-based startup has now secured $17.5 million in Series A funding from Bain Capital Ventures, as exclusively reported to TechCrunch. This follows a previously unannounced $5 million seed round from First Round Capital, bringing the total funding to $22.5 million.

“We refer to it as ‘GTM Superintelligence’—a reasoning-driven approach that doesn’t just automate or assist, but actively makes the best possible decisions to drive growth,” said Mihir Garimella, Actively’s CEO and co-founder, in a statement.

The startup utilizes a combination of in-house models and popular reasoning models from OpenAI and Anthropic to power its technology. Both founders previously studied AI at Stanford, with Garimella focusing on a field closely related to reasoning called active learning, which inspired the name Actively. 

Actively’s fundraising is the latest indication that the growth of reasoning models may be expanding beyond foundational AI companies like OpenAI or DeepSeek to startups.

For example, just last week, a YC-backed startup secured $5 million in funding after developing a “reasoning engine” for reducing paperwork in healthcare. The startup, Taxo, reported that it had reached $1 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) in six months. (Actively declined to disclose its exact ARR but stated that it has grown tenfold in nine months.)

It is still early to determine whether Actively’s reasoning-powered approach will deliver as promised or become just another iteration of AI sales tools. After all, reasoning only gained significant traction late last year with the emergence of DeepSeek. For now, however, some investors are convinced by the pitch.