AI-powered marketing automation startup Conversion, founded five years ago by two UC Berkeley dropouts, has raised a $28 million Series A led by Abstract, with participation from True Ventures and HOF Capital. The company’s founding story sounds like it could have been an episode of the HBO show “Silicon Valley.”
The story begins when co-founder and CEO Neil Tewari, now 24, was in high school. He got busted watching a TechCrunch Disrupt livestream during class, was sent to the principal’s office, and had to stay late. Afraid to call his parents, he instead called a close family friend. On the drive home, Tewari explained his interest in entrepreneurship. Four years later, that same friend became the first investor in Conversion.
James Jiao, Tewari’s college roommate at Berkeley and now Conversion’s co-founder and CTO, also dreamed of starting a company. The two experimented with various products, including one for helping marketers buy product placement ads. They stumbled on the idea for Conversion after signing up for HubSpot to handle marketing tasks and deciding to build additional automation features on top of it.
At first, the tool was just for their own use. But after enjoying the process, they wondered if they could sell it. They spent two months conducting 160 customer interviews with marketing VPs at midsize businesses and received an overwhelmingly positive response.
Marketing teams relied heavily on existing tools but were frustrated by the lack of automation. The family friend introduced them to more executives, helping them raise a $2 million seed round. At 19, they dropped out of college to work full-time on Conversion.
The founders lived frugally, sharing a two-bedroom apartment with five roommates—some sleeping on couches or in the closet. As they built their product, ChatGPT emerged, sparking demand for AI-powered marketing tools. While legacy platforms scrambled to add AI features, Conversion was built with AI at its core, enabling tasks like lead organization and personalized email automation.
AI’s rise has boosted Conversion’s growth. The company is nearing $10 million in annual recurring revenue, with 90% of its customers replacing older tools.
Conversion operates in a competitive space, facing legacy platforms like HubSpot, Adobe Marketo, and Salesforce Pardot, as well as AI-native startups. But Tewari remains confident, focusing on businesses already using outdated tools rather than first-time adopters.
The company has raised $30 million total between its seed and Series A rounds. The founders have since upgraded from their crowded apartment—now living separately, with no roommates in closets.