Sam Blond, former VC at Founders Fund and ex-head of sales at Brex, has unveiled Monaco, an ambitious AI-powered sales platform targeting the Salesforce empire.
The startup exited stealth mode with a hefty $35 million in funding, comprising a $10 million seed and $25 million Series A round.
From VC to Visionary Operator
Blond, who spent just 18 months at Founders Fund before returning to operating, leverages his sales expertise to build tools for early-stage startups.
Co-founded with his brother Brian Blond, a partner at Human Capital, alongside tech veterans Abishek Viswanathan from Apollo and Qualtrics, and Malay Desai from Clari.
AI Agents Meet Human Expertise
Monaco offers an AI-native CRM, custom prospect databases rivaling Zoominfo, and intelligent agents that handle outreach, emails, and scheduling.
Crucially, human salespeople oversee AI operations to ensure accuracy, prevent errors, and close deals personally, blending automation with reliability.
Robust Funding and Stellar Backers
The Series A was led by Founders Fund, with investments from Human Capital and prominent angels including Stripe's Patrick and John Collison, Y Combinator's Garry Tan, and Greenoaks' Neil Mehta.
With a team of about 40, predominantly seasoned salespeople, Monaco's San Francisco office buzzes with motivational energy aimed at saving startups.
Disrupting the Sales Tech Landscape
Positioned against incumbents like Salesforce and Hubspot, plus AI upstarts like Attio and Clay, Monaco claims the crown as the 'Cursor for sales' in a nascent market shift.
The public beta launch introduces flat-fee pricing, democratizing advanced sales workflows for seed and Series A companies.
Industry watchers anticipate Monaco could automate grunt work, boost efficiency, and potentially dethrone Salesforce as the sales tech leader.
Blond envisions a future where AI fully orchestrates sales sequences, heralding profound changes for startup growth worldwide.
Maria Lourdes
