Berlin-based startup Plato, which develops an AI-driven platform that enhances sales and streamlines operations for wholesale businesses, has raised $6.5 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Cherry Ventures, with support from various tech business angels.
- Founded in 2023 by Benedikt Nolte, Matthias Heinrich, and Oliver Birch, Plato develops an AI-driven sales intelligence platform tailored for distributors. The software automates B2B sales teams by providing data-driven recommendations that identify key sales opportunities from customer signals.
- By processing five times more information, Plato empowers sales teams to act decisively, increasing sales while allowing companies to maintain their current workforce and streamline onboarding.
- The platform integrates seamlessly with ERP and inventory management systems, enhancing them with AI analyses and automated workflows. This all-in-one solution streamlines operations, enabling sales teams to focus on selling instead of administrative tasks.
- With features like Sales Intelligence for cross-selling and up-selling, and Workflow Automation for simplifying quote and order creation, Plato boosts efficiency, saving sales teams up to 20% of their time and increasing customer-facing activities by 65%.
Details of the deal
- The pre-seed round was led by Cherry Ventures, a Berlin-based venture capital firm that backs European tech founders tackling critical societal, environmental, and business challenges. With offices in Berlin, London, and Stockholm, the firm boasts a portfolio of notable companies, including FlixBus, Auto1, Forto, Tacto, Qualifyze, Juni, Moss, Flinn.ai, and Carbo Culture.
"While Plato's product vision is undoubtedly ambitious, we're all in to support their growth into a long-term global leader and European success story," said Jasper Masemann from Cherry Ventures.
- The funding round also included participation from C-level angels at tech giants such as Microsoft, SAP, NVIDIA, Celonis, Personio, Sennder, and Forto, including notable individuals like Charlie Songhurst, Michael Haufler, Mario Götze, Florian Hans, Fabian Q. Veit, and Hanno Renner, among others.
- With the fresh capital raised, Plato plans to expand its team and scale its product for several large customers that have thousands of sales representatives.
"This investment is a powerful vote of confidence and an incredible opportunity to drive sustainable transformation in the wholesale distribution sector. With this support, we’re poised to make long-term investments to bring our vision to life: Automating ERP processes with AI to build the digital backbone of the trade economy," co-founder of Plato, Benedikt Nolte, commented on LinkedIn.
