Cresta
Category: AI Agents
Enterprise AI platform for contact centers that unifies AI agents, real-time agent assist, and conversation intelligence. Cresta was founded in 2017. The company is led by Ping Wu. Based in Sunnyvale, United States. Team size: 500+. Total funding raised: $276M. Latest round: Series D. Key investors include World Innovation Lab (WiL), Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Tiger Global, Accenture, EnvisionX Capital, LG Technology Ventures.
- Founded
- 2017
- Headquarters
- Sunnyvale, United States
- Team size
- 500+
- Total funding
- $276M
Value proposition
A single platform for human and AI agents that automates suitable customer conversations, coaches human agents in real time, and analyzes all conversations. Customers use it to lower cost per contact, lift revenue and retention, and improve CX quality.
Products and solutions
AI Agent (omnichannel voice/digital, AI Receptionist), Agent Assist / Agentic Assist (Knowledge Agent, AI Summaries, Behavioral Guidance), Conversation Intelligence (Insights, AI Analyst, Automation Discovery, Coach, Quality Management, Training Simulator), Opera no-code AI orchestration engine
Unique value
Human-centric 'AI operating system for CX' that combines AI agents, real-time human-agent augmentation, and 100% conversation analytics in one platform. Point-solution AI agent vendors cover only automation.
Target customer
Large enterprises and Fortune 500 contact centers, plus BPOs, in airlines, travel, finance, insurance, telecom, retail, healthcare and home services.
Industries served
Airlines, Travel & Hospitality, Finance, Insurance, Telecommunications, Retail, Healthcare, Automotive, Home Services
Technology advantage
Stanford AI Lab origins; deployed a transformer-based model for real-time agent assist as early as 2018; multiple conversational AI patents; leadership from Google CCAI; enterprise-grade deployments at Fortune 500 scale; reached $100M ARR in 2026.
How they differentiate
Covers both human-agent augmentation and AI-agent automation plus conversation analytics on one platform, with a human-centric positioning. Sierra and Decagon focus mainly on autonomous AI agents; Observe.AI and Level AI focus mainly on analytics and QA.
Main competitors
Sierra, Observe.AI, Decagon (also ASAPP, Level AI, Cognigy)
Key partnerships
Firstsource (CX transformation partnership), Accenture (strategic investor), World Innovation Lab (WiL) Japan market bridge, AWS Marketplace listing, large Japanese BPO and e-commerce companies (unnamed)
Notable customers
United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Marriott, CVS Health, Cox Communications, Intuit, Aqua Finance, Brinks Home, Windstar Cruises, Achieve, Propel Holdings
Major milestones
2017 founded out of Stanford AI Lab, 2018 first customer, Intuit, 2020 emerged from stealth with a Series A, 2021 Series B as revenue quadrupled, 2022 Series C at a $1.6B valuation, 2023 Ping Wu named CEO and Opera launched, 2024 $125M Series D and AI Agent launch, 2025 APAC/EMEA expansion, 2026 reached $100M ARR, Doug Leone became Chairman, Carl Eschenbach joined the board, and Japan entity established with Jim Tamura as country manager.
Growth metrics
Over $100M ARR (2026); 600+ employees; 10+ team hubs; over $270M raised; $1.6B valuation as of the Series C (2022).
Market positioning
Leading enterprise contact-center AI unicorn ($1.6B valuation as of 2022) serving the Fortune 500.
Geographic focus
US-headquartered with hubs in Toronto, Berlin, Madrid, London, Melbourne and Tokyo. Expanded into APAC and EMEA in 2025 and established a Japan entity (Cresta AI合同会社) in July 2026, announced October 2026.
Patents and IP
Multiple conversational AI patents secured (2022), per company.
About Ping Wu
Ex-Google co-founder and lead of Google Contact Center AI (CCAI) and Vertex AI; University of California, Santa Barbara. Became Cresta CEO in 2023.
Latest news about Cresta
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Official website: https://cresta.com