French startup Dust has raised $16 million in a Series A funding round led by Sequoia Capital. Dust enables companies to create custom AI assistants connected to their internal data and documents, enhancing workplace efficiency. This funding will help Dust further develop its platform and expand its reach.
Unlike consumer-facing tools like ChatGPT, Dust’s AI assistants integrate with a company’s internal resources. Users can link assistants to Notion pages, Google Drive documents, Intercom conversations, or Slack channels. This connectivity allows Dust to provide highly relevant and specific assistance based on a company’s proprietary information.
Multiple Assistants for Different Tasks
Dust advocates for the use of multiple AI assistants within a single company, each tailored to specific tasks or departments. This approach contrasts with other AI startups that typically focus on creating a single, all-purpose assistant.
For example:
- Support Teams: Assistants can access the knowledge base and past support interactions, helping new team members quickly find answers.
- HR Teams: Assistants can answer questions about corporate policies or draft job descriptions based on past examples.
- Engineering and Data Teams: Assistants can understand database schemas and generate SQL queries from plain English requests.
- Sales Teams: Assistants can create draft emails using CRM data and contextual information about potential clients.
User-Friendly and Integrated Platform
Dust aims to build a product that is user-friendly and integrates seamlessly into daily workflows. Employees can interact with AI assistants through Dust’s web interface or directly within Slack, making it easy to incorporate AI assistance into regular conversations and tasks.
Dust currently generates $1 million in annual recurring revenue and has several late-stage tech companies as intensive users, including Watershed, Alan, Qonto, Pennylane, and PayFit. Notably, 75% of Qonto’s 1,600 employees use Dust assistants monthly, while 80% of Alan’s workforce uses them weekly. Pennylane has created 86 custom assistants with Dust, highlighting the platform’s versatility and effectiveness.
Dust does not create its own foundation models. Instead, it allows users to choose from various large language models for their assistants, including integrations with OpenAI (GPT), Anthropic (Claude), Mistral, and Google’s Gemini models. This flexibility ensures that companies can select the best model for their specific needs.
Competitive Landscape
Dust operates in a competitive market with several other startups and established companies working on enterprise AI platforms, such as Brevian, Tektonic AI, Ema, Kore.ai, and Glean. Even Atlassian has introduced its AI teammate, Rovo. Dust aims to differentiate itself through its customer-focused approach and easy onboarding strategy.
Dust’s innovative approach to integrating AI assistants with internal company data and its focus on creating multiple, specialized assistants for different tasks have garnered significant interest and investment. With the new funding, Dust is well-positioned to continue enhancing its platform and expanding its market presence, aiming to transform how companies utilize AI in their daily operations.
See also: Orby AI: Revolutionizing Enterprise Workflows With AI Agents
