FORETHOUGHT

Forethought began in 2017. Deon Nicholas and Sami Ghoche wanted to use AI to make customer support actually smart.

The idea was software that understands what a customer is asking and finds the right answer instantly, instead of making them wait in a queue. In 2018 they entered TechCrunch Disrupt, the big startup competition, and won the whole thing.

That win put them on the map. A $9 million Series A led by NEA followed soon after.

Companies pay Forethought to sit on top of their customer support and make it faster. Its AI reads a company's help articles and its history of past tickets.

When a new customer question comes in, Forethought either answers it automatically or routes it to the right agent with the answer already attached. Businesses pay based on scale and usage.

The promise is fewer tickets reaching humans, faster replies, and agents who spend less time hunting for answers.

The flagship is SupportGPT, a generative AI platform that automates customer support conversations. Forethought also sells a suite of tools with plain names.

Solve resolves common tickets automatically. Triage predicts and prioritizes incoming cases so urgent ones jump the line.

Assist gives human agents the right answer while they are on a chat. Together they cover the whole support workflow, from the first question to the final reply.

Forethought grew by riding the generative AI wave at exactly the right moment. In March 2023 it launched SupportGPT, a support platform built on large language models.

That put it in the middle of the AI gold rush just as every company started asking how to use this stuff. It also built a memorable cap table.

The 2021 round pulled in celebrity investors including Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, and Ashton Kutcher's Sound Ventures. Famous names bring attention, and attention brings deals.

Forethought is fighting for oxygen in a crowded room. Customer support AI is packed with rivals, from Ada and Intercom to giants like Salesforce and Zendesk.

Everyone now claims to have an AI agent that resolves tickets. Generative AI lowered the barrier to entry, so being early is no longer enough.

Forethought has to keep proving its bots are more accurate and cheaper to run than the alternatives. And it has to do it against competitors with far bigger sales teams.

Forethought's $65 million Series C in December 2021 was led by Steadfast Capital Ventures, with NEA back again. The eye-catching part was the celebrity money.

Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary's Sound Ventures joined, along with Gwyneth Paltrow, NBA veteran Baron Davis, and Robert Downey Jr. The Series A in 2018 was led by NEA after Forethought won TechCrunch Disrupt.

In total the company has raised $92 million.