Outset, a San Francisco-based startup, has raised $17 million in Series A funding to expand its AI-moderated research platform, which delivers deep, qualitative insights at unprecedented speed and scale. Serving Fortune 500 clients like Nestlé, Microsoft, and WeightWatchers, Outset’s technology transforms traditional market research.
Outset raises $17M Series A led by 8VC.
AI platform conducts 10x more interviews, 8x faster.
Reduces research costs by 81% compared to human-led methods.
Used by Nestlé, Microsoft, and WeightWatchers for customer insights.
Revenue grew 20% month-over-month in the past year.
Funds to enhance AI agents for design and UX research.
Outset’s AI-moderated platform conducts video interviews with participants, offering the depth of one-on-one interviews at the scale of surveys. “From my own professional experience, I know firsthand how difficult and time-consuming it is to truly understand your customers and their needs – nothing matters more,” said Aaron Cannon, co-founder and CEO of Outset. The platform is 8x faster, captures 10x more interviews, and is 81% cheaper than traditional methods, as demonstrated by Nestlé’s use for product concept testing.
Fortune 500 companies like Nestlé, Microsoft, and WeightWatchers leverage Outset for rapid, in-depth research. “AI-augmented research is here. We partner with Outset to accelerate and scale our team’s ability to learn from our users with the help of AI agents,” said Jess Holbrook, Head of Research at Microsoft AI. Nestlé completed projects in 1-2 days, achieving significant cost savings, while WeightWatchers gained deeper insights into user motivations in just 24 hours.
Outset’s platform allows users to input research guides, prototypes, or designs, recruiting participants from integrated panels or custom user bases. The AI conducts multilingual, video-based interviews and delivers instant analytics. “Primary user research is a core competency for every company in the world,” said Jack Moshkovich, Partner at 8VC. With security certifications and data-segregated workspaces, Outset meets enterprise needs for usability testing and market strategy.
The $17M round, led by 8VC with participation from Future Back Ventures and Y Combinator, brings Outset’s total funding to $21M. With 20% monthly revenue growth and a 10x increase in usage, Outset plans to expand its team and enhance AI agents for design and customer experience research. The platform addresses a $140B market, revolutionizing how enterprises understand users.
Outset’s AI-driven approach reduces barriers to understanding user needs, infusing products with greater humanity. By enabling scalable, cost-effective research, Outset empowers enterprises to make faster, data-driven decisions, positioning it as a leader in the evolving AI research landscape.
Outset is the first AI-moderated research platform providing the scale and speed of a survey with the depth of a one-to-one interview. Designed to help Fortune 500 enterprises obtain deep, qualitative research results quickly, Outset leverages AI to conduct and synthesize video interviews to inform strategic business decisions. Top enterprises, including WeightWatchers, Away and Nestle rely on Outset to deliver in-depth data results and insights faster than traditional survey methods.
TechIntelPro empowers B2B technology decision-makers with the latest industry trends, deep insights, leadership perspectives and actionable intelligence to drive both organizational and professional milestones—and thrive on the tech pulse.