Simile has raised more than $200 million in Series B funding at a $2 billion post-money valuation, five months after announcing a $100 million Series A. The startup develops AI agents that simulate how people may respond to products, marketing messages and business decisions.
Greenoaks led the latest round, with participation from Index Ventures, Hanabi Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, A*, Factory, Definition and CVS Health Ventures. The new financing brings Simile’s disclosed funding to more than $300 million.
AI Agents Stand In for Research Participants
Simile creates digital representations of real people using consented interviews, survey responses, preferences and past behaviour. Companies can ask these agents questions or place them into simulated scenarios to test potential decisions before conducting larger studies or launching products.
The platform is currently used for applications including market research, customer experience analysis, product testing and policy modelling. Simile has also described customers using its technology to rehearse earnings calls and examine possible litigation outcomes.
CVS Health is both a customer and an investor. Its simulations are based on 2.9 million consented responses from more than 400,000 participants across over 200 behavioural scenarios, according to Simile.
CVS has used the agents to examine medication adherence, communication strategies, customer journeys and the needs of groups that may be difficult or expensive to recruit for conventional studies. The company compares simulated findings with real customer responses before applying them to decisions.
Technology Originated in Stanford Research
Simile was founded by Joon Sung Park, a Stanford computer science researcher whose work helped introduce generative agents. A 2023 research project commonly known as “Smallville” placed AI characters in a simulated town where they formed relationships, organised events and reacted to one another over time.
Park later developed the research into a commercial platform intended to model individual and group behaviour. Simile says its long-term goal is to create simulations involving large populations, organisations and markets.
Index Ventures led Simile’s $100 million Series A in February, with participation from Bain Capital Ventures, Hanabi, A* and several technology investors. That round brought the company out of stealth and introduced its technology as a tool for predicting how people may act and explaining the reasons behind those decisions.
Simulated research can reduce the time and cost required to test early ideas, although companies still need human studies and real-world data to validate important findings. Simile’s rapid financing reflects investor interest in using AI agents for research tasks that have traditionally relied on surveys, interviews and focus groups.
Featured image credits: Magnific.com
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