Monaco AI sales startup is officially out of stealth — and it’s aiming straight at Salesforce.

Founded by former Founders Fund VC Sam Blond and his brother Brian Blond, Monaco has raised $35 million across a $10 million seed round and a $25 million Series A, both led by Founders Fund with participation from Human Capital. The company has been running a private beta and has now opened its AI-powered sales platform to public beta users.

A Different Take on AI Sales

What sets the Monaco AI sales startup apart in a crowded AI sales tech market is its hybrid approach. Rather than replacing human sales representatives entirely, Monaco combines AI agents with experienced human sales professionals who monitor and guide the system’s performance.

The founding team includes Sam Blond, previously head of sales at Brex; Brian Blond, now a partner at Human Capital; Abishek Viswanathan, formerly chief product officer at Apollo and Qualtrics; and Malay Desai, previously senior vice president of engineering at Clari.

The Monaco AI sales startup targets early-stage companies at the seed and Series A level. Its platform includes:

• An AI-native customer relationship management (CRM) system
• A proprietary database for prospect discovery
• AI agents that create and execute email outreach campaigns
• Follow-up drafting tools
• A meeting notetaker

According to Sam Blond, the system automates much of the repetitive “grunt work” in sales workflows. Monaco builds prospect databases, identifies key decision-makers within target companies, sequences outreach efforts, and schedules meetings — all under human supervision.

Importantly, the Monaco AI sales startup emphasizes that customer meetings are conducted by real people, not AI avatars.

Competing in a Crowded Field

The sales technology space is packed with AI-native tools and established incumbents. Competitors range from AI SDR platforms like 11x, Artisan, and 1mind to CRM challengers such as Attio and Clay. Meanwhile, major players including Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, and ZoomInfo are integrating their own AI-driven capabilities.

Despite the competition, the Monaco AI sales startup positions itself as part of a broader platform shift. Sam Blond argues that existing leaders were built in a previous SaaS era and that the next generation of sales infrastructure will be AI-native from the ground up.

Currently, Monaco’s pricing is structured as a flat fee, discounted during its beta phase, though specific figures have not been disclosed.

Backing From High-Profile Investors

Beyond institutional support from Founders Fund and Human Capital, the Monaco AI sales startup attracted several notable angel investors. Among them are Stripe founders Patrick and John Collison, Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan, and Greenoaks Capital founder Neil Mehta.

Blond acknowledges the intensity of competition but sees opportunity in the absence of a dominant AI-native sales leader. He describes the current market as the early innings of a broader transition that could reshape sales technology leadership.

With approximately 40 employees and a team composed largely of experienced sales professionals, Monaco appears focused on blending technology with service. Rather than presenting AI as a replacement for humans, the Monaco AI sales startup frames itself as augmenting young companies that lack the resources to hire seasoned sales teams outright.