AI Research Startup Listen Labs Abandoned $1.5B Funding Round Amid Salesforce Acquisition Talks
TechCrunch · United States · Sep 10, 2026
Listen Labs, a voice-AI market research startup, walked away from a signed $125M Series C term sheet at a $1.5B valuation — a rare move driven by active acquisition discussions with Salesforce reportedly valued around $2B. The three-year-old startup generates approximately $30M in annualized revenue and counts Microsoft, Canva, and Anthropic among its customers. If the Salesforce deal falls through, VCs expect Listen Labs to return to market targeting a $2B+ valuation. Notably, co-founder Alfred Wahlforss previously founded Bemlo, a staffing startup.
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