Siena raises $17m Series A to expand customer service AI agents

New York-based AI startup Siena has raised $17 million in a Series A funding round, as it looks to expand its network of autonomous customer service agents.

The investment was led by York IE, with participation from new investor Joyance Ventures alongside existing backers Aglaé Ventures, Sierra Ventures, and the Super Angel Fund. The deal brings Siena's total funding to date to $29.7 million.

Founded by Romanian entrepreneurs Andrei Negrau and Lisa Popovici, Siena initially built a single AI agent designed to handle customer service queries for online retailers. Since then, the company has branched out. It now offers a Shopping Agent, which answers product questions and helps customers buy items directly within a chat window, and a Social Agent, which responds to comments and direct messages on social media. A voice agent for handling phone calls is also in development.

Linking the agents together

Siena plans to use the new funds to build more independent agents and to develop its "Agent of Record" platform. This central system is designed to connect all of its different AI tools so they can share information.

In practice, the platform pools a brand’s orders, subscriptions, reviews, and past chat histories. This ensures that if a customer interacts with one agent, the others already have the context. For instance, if a shopper returns an item because of a sizing issue, the Shopping Agent can automatically factor that in during their next conversation.

Mr Negrau, who serves as chief executive, says too many consumer brands split their customer software into isolated support, social, and marketing channels. "The customer is not particularly interested in your org chart," he said.

A crowded market

Siena is entering a highly competitive field. It competes with established customer service platforms and AI specialists like Gorgias, Intercom’s Fin, and Sierra.

To stand out, Siena is eschewing the traditional software pricing model. Instead of charging brands on a per-user-seat basis, it charges based on the outcomes achieved and the data tools used.

The company claims its software is already used by hundreds of consumer brands, including SPANX, FIGS, HexClad, and Comfrt. According to Siena, its AI agents are capable of resolving up to 80% of customer interactions without human intervention.

With the fresh funding secured, the company has now started hiring to support its expansion plans. York IE's general partner Tom Holahan suggested the startup has room to grow far beyond simple support, saying Siena could eventually become "as essential to running a brand as its commerce platform".