Strella
Category: AI in Marketing
An AI-powered customer research platform that automates in-depth user interviews to deliver qualitative insights at scale, in hours instead of weeks. Strella was founded in 2024. The company is led by Lydia Hylton. Based in New York, USA. Team size: 11-50. Total funding raised: $14M. Latest round: Series A, $14M, October 2025, led by Bessemer Venture Partners. Key investors include Bessemer Venture Partners, Decibel Partners, MVP Ventures, 645 Ventures.
- Founded
- 2024
- Headquarters
- New York, USA
- Team size
- 11-50
- Total funding
- $14M
Value proposition
To deliver high-quality, in-depth customer insights 10 times faster and at half the cost of traditional research methods by automating the entire qualitative research process.
Products and solutions
AI-moderated user interviews, Real-time data synthesis and analysis, Automated participant recruitment and incentive logistics, Multi-language support (17+ languages), Global panel access (8M+ participants)
Unique value
Strella's core innovation is its AI moderator, which conducts dynamic, human-like interviews. Unlike scripted bots, it adapts to participant responses in real-time, asking follow-up questions and probing for deeper insights to uncover the 'why' behind customer feedback. The platform can conduct hundreds of interviews simultaneously in 17+ languages with global participants.
Target customer
Product managers, researchers, marketers, and designers at enterprise companies.
Industries served
Technology, E-commerce, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), Education Technology, Financial Services, Healthcare
Technology advantage
The primary advantage is the end-to-end automation of the qualitative research workflow. This includes AI-generated interview guides, participant recruitment from a global 8M+ panel, conducting interviews at massive scale simultaneously in multiple languages, and real-time synthesis of findings, which drastically reduces the time and cost to get actionable insights.
How they differentiate
Strella differentiates itself by using AI to automate the end-to-end qualitative research process, from moderating customer interviews to synthesizing information. This approach is designed to deliver insights 10 times faster and at half the cost of traditional methods, with the ability to conduct hundreds of interviews simultaneously in multiple languages.
Main competitors
Qualtrics, UserTesting, dscout, Maze, User Interviews
Key partnerships
Bessemer Venture Partners (Lead Series A investor), Decibel Partners (Series A investor), MVP Ventures (Series A investor), 645 Ventures (Series A investor), Enterprise clients including Amazon, Chobani, Duolingo, Apollo GraphQL, Daily Harvest, DraftKings, NuBank
Notable customers
Amazon, Chobani, Duolingo, Apollo GraphQL, Daily Harvest, DraftKings, NuBank, Graza, Hatch, L Catterton, Boll & Branch, HackerRank, MeUndies, PGA, Ritual
Major milestones
Secured $14M in Series A funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners (October 2025), Launched AI-powered customer research platform (October 2024), Quadrupled customer base since emerging from stealth, Expanded to support 17+ languages and 8M+ global participants, Achieved 100% NPS scores from researchers and participants
Growth metrics
The company has quadrupled its customer base since emerging from stealth in October 2024. Clients report 90% time savings compared to manual qualitative research and 70% cost savings compared to focus groups. Researcher and participant NPS scores are at 100%.
Market positioning
Strella is positioned as a disruptor in the market research industry, focusing on AI-powered qualitative research to provide faster, more cost-effective insights than traditional methods. The company targets enterprise clients who need rapid, scalable qualitative insights.
Geographic focus
While based in New York, Strella serves large enterprise clients with global operations, offering research capabilities in 17+ languages with access to 8M+ global participants. Primary focus on the United States market with global expansion capabilities.
Patents and IP
Information on patents is not publicly available.
About Lydia Hylton
Previously worked as a Senior Associate Consultant at Bain & Company for 3 years, and in marketing and data science at Thumbtack for 1 year. She has an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BS in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech.
Official website: https://www.strella.io