As reported by TechCrunch, Writer has successfully raised $200 million in a Series C funding round, boosting its valuation to $1.9 billion. The round was led by Premji Invest, Radical Ventures, and ICONIQ Growth, with backing from major players like Salesforce Ventures, Adobe Ventures, B Capital, Citi Ventures, IBM Ventures, and Workday Ventures.
According to CEO May Habib, this investment brings the company’s total funding to $326 million. Writer plans to use these funds to advance its generative AI products and reinforce its position as a leader in AI solutions designed specifically for enterprise clients. “At Writer, our focus isn’t just on creating AI models that perform tasks,” Habib said. “We’re building sophisticated AI systems tailored for critical enterprise operations. With this funding, we’re doubling down on secure, reliable, and flexible AI solutions for complex real-world applications.”
Founded in 2020 by Habib and Waseem AlShikh, Writer evolved from their previous venture, Qordoba, which supported product localization for global markets. Since its launch, Writer has developed into a full-service AI platform for enterprises, with tailored solutions for diverse business needs. In 2023, the company introduced its own model family, Palmyra, which powers text generation. Later that year, it released tools that allow companies to connect their business data to these models and to self-host them as needed. Recently, Writer unveiled the Palmyra X 004 model, which was developed almost entirely with synthetic data at a fraction of the usual cost.
Writer’s primary focus is now on building “AI agents” capable of planning and executing workflows across departments and systems. Its platform also includes customizable guardrails for AI and a set of no-code development tools for easy deployment.
Writer’s growing client list includes major companies like Mars, Ally Bank, Qualcomm, Salesforce, Uber, Accenture, L’Oreal, and Intuit. Salesforce’s EVP of product and industries marketing, Patrick Stokes, praised Writer’s platform for its simplicity and effectiveness, saying that it has significantly sped up Salesforce’s own workflows.
This latest funding round, which also saw participation from Accenture, Balderton, Insight Partners, and Vanguard, highlights the ongoing enthusiasm among investors for generative AI. Venture capital interest in this field remains high, with a recent Accel report indicating that nearly 40% of all VC investments in cloud technology are flowing into generative AI. In the first half of 2024 alone, investments in generative AI startups surpassed $3.9 billion.
While the generative AI market is predicted to exceed $1 trillion in revenue over the next decade, the sector faces challenges around data privacy, copyright, and technical hurdles like model “hallucinations.”
