Listen Labs, a market research startup that uses voice AI to conduct customer interviews, recently signed a term sheet for a $125 million Series C at a $1.5 billion valuation, with Menlo Ventures set to lead the round, according to several people with knowledge of the matter.
But that round never closed, the people said. Listen Labs walked away from the signed term sheet, a rare occurrence in the venture world and one that is generally frowned upon, according to VCs.
If talks with Salesforce collapse, several VCs told TechCrunch that they expect Listen Labs to return to market and target a valuation of $2 billion or higher.
While acquiring Listen Labs could strengthen Salesforce’s AI capabilities by using the startup’s AI to help predict customer needs, the CRM giant may ultimately decide that paying a 67 times revenue multiple is too steep a valuation, according to a person with experience negotiating exits to Salesforce.
Listen Labs, Salesforce, Menlo Ventures, and Simile did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Listen Labs was co-founded in 2023 by Florian Jüngermann, a former German national champion in competitive computer programming, and Alfred Wahlforss, who previously founded a staffing startup called Bemlo. The two met while pursuing master’s degrees at Harvard.
Listen Labs’ AI develops survey questions and interviews customers over audio or video. The resulting conversations are then packaged into reports and PowerPoint presentations, similar to those traditionally produced by human market researchers.
Fortune 500 companies rely on this type of research to gauge customer needs and satisfaction with their brands and products, but traditional market research is expensive and can take weeks to complete.