Ex-Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor's AI startup Sierra just catapulted into the elite $10 billion valuation club after closing a $350 million funding round led by Greenoaks. The company more than doubled its October valuation, joining only five other AI startups—including OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI—in the exclusive ten-figure territory as investors bet big on the AI agent revolution.
Salesforce veteran Bret Taylor just pulled off one of Silicon Valley's most impressive valuation jumps. His AI startup Sierra rocketed to a $10 billion valuation after securing $350 million in fresh capital, more than doubling the $4.5 billion price tag from its October funding round. The meteoric rise lands Sierra in an ultra-exclusive club of AI companies valued at $10 billion or higher—a group that includes just five other startups: OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, Safe Superintelligence, and Thinking Machines.
Greenoaks led the latest round, betting big on Sierra's vision of autonomous AI agents that can handle complex customer service tasks without human intervention. The timing couldn't be more strategic—investors are racing to place bets on AI infrastructure companies they believe will eventually go public and deliver massive returns.
Taylor, who serves as chairman of OpenAI's board and previously ran Salesforce alongside Marc Benioff, co-founded Sierra in 2023 with a laser focus on enterprise AI agents. The company's technology is already powering customer interactions for "hundreds of millions of people," according to Sierra's Thursday blog post, handling everything from mortgage refinancing and food delivery to insurance claims and technical support.
The funding announcement comes as Salesforce shares tumbled 5% Thursday following weak guidance and mounting concerns about how AI disruption is reshaping traditional software companies. The contrast is stark—while legacy enterprise software giants grapple with AI's impact on their business models, purpose-built AI companies like Sierra are commanding eye-watering valuations.
Sierra's rapid ascent reflects the broader AI funding frenzy sweeping Silicon Valley. Just days before Sierra's announcement, Anthropic closed a staggering $13 billion funding round at an $183 billion post-money valuation. The back-to-back mega-rounds signal that investors remain convinced AI will fundamentally reshape how businesses operate, despite growing questions about when these companies will generate sustainable profits.
