Bret Taylor’s Sierra raises $350M at a $10B valuation

Sierra, the burgeoning AI agent startup founded by former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor, is making waves in the tech world after announcing a substantial $350 million funding round. This latest investment, spearheaded by existing backer Greenoaks Capital, elevates the company's valuation to an impressive $10 billion, as confirmed in a blog post from the firm. Founded in early 2024 by Taylor alongside Clay Bavor, a veteran from Google, Sierra has quickly gained traction, boasting a growing clientele that includes notable names like SoFi, Ramp, and Brex within just 18 months of its inception. To date, the startup has successfully raised a total of $635 million, which includes a previous $110 million round led by Sequoia and Benchmark last year, as well as a $175 million funding round in October, also led by Greenoaks. Both Taylor and Bavor bring extensive experience from the customer service technology sector. Taylor’s prior tenure at Salesforce, where he played a pivotal role for nearly a decade, and his founding of Quip—later acquired by Salesforce for $750 million—underscore his expertise. Meanwhile, Bavor’s work on prominent products like Gmail and Google Drive has solidified his reputation in the tech industry. The duo first crossed paths at Google, where Taylor was instrumental in the launch of Google Maps before transitioning to a significant role at Facebook as CTO. In an exciting development this week, Taylor announced the return of Sierra's APX program, a unique rotational initiative aimed at recent technical graduates. This program is modeled after the one that kickstarted both Taylor's and Bavor's careers at Google two decades ago. It stands out amid a challenging job market, particularly as organizations evaluate the implications of emerging AI technologies on their workforce. Targeting computer science graduates, the APX program promises hands-on experience in agent engineering and product management. Taylor emphasizes that participants will be granted what he describes as 'an irresponsible amount of responsibility,' akin to the creative freedom he and Bavor enjoyed at Google, with new hires expected to contribute to multiple product launches within their first year.