Conveo, the AI-powered research platform, has raised $5.3 million in seed funding to further develop its product and expand into the U.S. and European markets. The round includes backing from Y Combinator, 6 Degrees Capital, Entourage Capital, Pitchdrive, and Syndicate One, bringing together a group of investors known for supporting innovative SaaS companies.
Founded in April 2024, Conveo has quickly attracted attention from global brands like Unilever, Orange, Sanofi, and Google. The company’s rapid traction highlights strong demand for faster, more accessible customer insights powered by AI-driven video interviews.
Conveo operates at the intersection of market research, AI automation, and the rising demand for real-time customer insights. As consumer behavior shifts due to AI adoption, the Creator Economy, and the rise of Gen Z and Alpha, brands are under pressure to keep up. Traditional research methods, however, are too slow and expensive for today’s pace of change.
“90% of the time in qualitative research is spent on activities that can be automated so researchers can spend time on actually creating value from these insights.” – Dieter De Mesmaeker, Co-founder & CEO, Conveo.
This mismatch is what led Conveo to create an AI coworker—a digital research assistant capable of conducting hundreds of interviews overnight, in any language, and delivering deep analysis within hours.
With the new capital, Conveo plans to strengthen its product capabilities and grow its engineering and business development teams. A key focus will be enhancing the AI coworker, making it even smarter at combining existing research, fresh insights, and third-party data into comprehensive answers for decision-makers.
Beyond product development, Conveo is also preparing for deeper market penetration in the U.S. and Europe, where demand for faster, more agile research is growing rapidly. Hiring across both regions will accelerate sales and support functions to serve Conveo’s expanding global client base.
Conveo was born from the firsthand frustrations experienced by its founders. Dieter De Mesmaeker, Conveo’s CEO, saw companies at his previous scale-up making high-stakes decisions with incomplete research—leading to costly mistakes. Meanwhile, Co-founder Hendrik Van Hove, previously at McKinsey, knew all too well how traditional research methods were slow, manual, and expensive.
“I've seen the value of great research at McKinsey doing hundreds of interviews and countless surveys myself. But with the scheduling, note-taking, and long nights analyzing, it was extremely painful to do. That’s why companies don’t do nearly enough research.” – Hendrik Van Hove, Co-founder, Conveo.
The pair teamed up to build what they call the Qualtrics of qualitative research—an AI-driven video interview platform that combines the depth of qualitative insights with the scale and speed of automation.
In addition to Y Combinator, Conveo’s investors include firms with deep expertise in supporting early-stage technology companies. Backers like 6 Degrees Capital and Entourage Capital have a track record of scaling SaaS platforms, while Pitchdrive and Syndicate One specialize in European tech innovation.
Conveo’s advisory team also benefits from the expertise of Niels Schillewaert, PhD, founder of insights agency Human8 and Professor at Vlerick Business School, who helps shape Conveo’s research approach.
Conveo’s AI doesn’t just conduct interviews—it behaves like a human researcher, following topic guides, asking follow-ups, and digging deeper when needed. This human-like interaction ensures richer responses, with more than 50% of valuable insights coming from AI-driven follow-ups.
The company has also tackled a common hesitation among brands: whether customers would feel comfortable speaking to AI. Data shows that 83% of respondents feel more open sharing with AI than a human, and 93% rate Conveo’s AI interviews 4 out of 5 or higher.
This blend of human-like conversation, automation, and speed positions Conveo as a powerful new option for companies looking to keep pace with rapidly changing markets.
