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YC-Backed Startup Octolane Raises Seed Round to Challenge Salesforce with the First Self-Driving AI CRM That Automates Sales Actions and Manual CRM Updates

1. Octolane raises $2.6M seed funding for its AI-driven CRM. 2. Octolane transforms CRM from passive database to proactive sales assistant. 3. Businesses are rapidly switching from Salesforce and HubSpot to Octolane. 4. The platform automates sales tasks, saving reps 25+ hours weekly. 5. Investors highlight strong customer demand and innovative approach to CRM.

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Why Bullish?

Octolane's differentiation as a proactive CRM could weaken competitors like Salesforce. Historical shifts, like Slack disrupting traditional communication tools, showcase how new entrants can gain market share rapidly.

How important is it?

The ongoing shift towards AI in CRM enhances Octolane's value proposition, indicating a transformative trend in the market.

Why Long Term?

As businesses adapt to new technologies, sustained customer conversion from legacy CRMs to Octolane will solidify its market position.

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SAN FRANCISCO, April 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Octolane, which provides the first AI-driven CRM that automates sales actions and CRM updates, announced today an oversubscribed $2.6M seed round. Founded by two young immigrants, Octolane is challenging Salesforce and other legacy CRM providers with a new AI-driven platform that automates sales actions and CRM updates. Investors include angels Brian Shin (one of the earliest investors in both HubSpot and Drift), Kulveer Taggar, Cindy Bi (CapitalX) and Dave Messina (Pioneer Fund). Y Combinator, Lan Xuezhao (Basis Set Ventures), and General Catalyst Apex also participated. Octolane will utilize the funds primarily for expanding its team and for infrastructure investments that will allow it to meet strong demand for its platform. Traditional CRMs have become glorified databases that force sales teams to spend hours manually entering data after every customer interaction. Most reps hate using them because they create work rather than reducing it. Octolane reinvented what a CRM actually does, transforming it from a passive "System of Record" that demands constant manual updates into an intelligent "System of Actions" that predicts and executes the next steps needed to close deals. When reps log into Octolane in the morning, instead of a list of administrative to-dos, they see a list of actions already executed with recommendations for further steps reps can take to see deals progress. Reps can then spend their time actually selling. "Octolane's daily company updates on Twitter caught my attention so I went to visit their SF office on a Sunday," said investor Cindy Bi. "About half an hour in, I decided to invest after learning about the founders' journey to the U.S., talking about their ambitions, and checking their product demo. It's obvious that Octolane has a very strong market pull from customers of all sizes that are eager to switch from Salesforce and HubSpot and that's how an AI-first CRM should be: a system of actions, not just records. Each interaction I've had with the Octolane team boosts my confidence because you can tell that nothing can stop them from earning more customers from this $300B market cap opportunity." "What drew me to Octolane was their rare combination of customer obsession and extraordinary output," said investor Taggar. "They're constantly shipping improvements based on real user feedback. One and Rafi understand that retention is the true north star in this space, and they've been bold enough to tackle the CRM category with genuinely fresh thinking. Seeing fast-growing companies switch to their platform validates that this approach is exactly what the market has been waiting for." Octolane was co-founded by immigrants One Chowdhury and Md Abdul Halim Rafi - best friends since high school who taught themselves to code by watching YouTube tutorials. Chowdhury was inspired to start a company after a visit to San Francisco. "I noticed Salesforce tower, and a friend told me, 'It's a big CRM software company that everyone hates,'" said Chowdhury. "I thought, if everyone hates them, why do they have the tallest building in San Francisco? I did some research and found that while Salesforce was viewed as very disruptive at its launch decades ago, it was now viewed as obsolete - AI has passed it by. I called Rafi, and we decided to build an AI-driven, sales-focused CRM from scratch that would eliminate the need for salespeople to manually update their CRM recordkeeping - something that typically eats up to two-thirds of a salesperson's time, leading to late nights and lost time with family." Chowdhury dropped out of Duke University (Class of 2025) to start Octolane. Octolane, launched earlier this year, has 200 active customers with 5,000 more on a waitlist. Almost all are converts from Salesforce and Hubspot. One is Retell AI. "A CRM is critical for managing inbound volume, but most tools slow us down more than they help," said Evie Wang, Co-Founder of Retell AI. "With Octolane, we finally found a system that just works. It automatically qualifies leads using AI, and the built-in calendar makes it seamless for high-intent leads to book meetings. We replaced 5–6 other fragmented tools and core HubSpot functionalities with Octolane, which saves thousands of dollars every month, plus deals close faster. Octolane feels like Rippling, but for CRM: everything we need in one place, finally working together. The Octolane team is one of the most reliable we’ve worked with, and the product has become a core part of how we grow." About OctolaneOctolane is the first AI-native Self Driving CRM that updates itself and takes action, so sales reps can spend less time on admin and more time closing deals. Hundreds of teams have already made the switch from HubSpot and Salesforce, replacing clunky workflows for speed and AI automation. Backed by Y Combinator, General Catalyst Apex and prominent angels like Brian Shin, Kulveer Taggar and Cindy Bi, Octolane helps companies shorten sales cycles, increase win rates, and let reps do what they do best: sell. Learn more at octolane.com. Media contact:Michelle FaulknerBig Swing617-510-6998michelle@big-swing.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4ab43de0-cf6e-4a41-bdf2-930bd50337d3 Octolane frees up 25+ hours per week that salespeople used to spend updating their CRM Octolane was co-founded by immigrants One Chowdhury and Md Abdul Halim Rafi - best friends since hig...

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