Key Takeaways
- • redalpine led a USD 15 million seed round in Berlin-based AI customer operations start-up telli, lifting total funding to USD 18.5 million.
- • Co-investors in the round include Cherry Ventures, Y Combinator, Mutschler and several business angels.
- • telli's AI co-worker "Charlie" and AI agents operating across voice, chat, SMS, WhatsApp and email already handle millions of customer interactions for clients including Sky, Viessmann, Enpal and Vaillant.
- • Osborne Clarke advised redalpine on structuring the round, negotiating financing documentation with the international investor group, and aligning governance terms for a growth-oriented AI software company.
- • The round is seen as a signal of European investor appetite for AI-powered voice and multi-channel agent platforms.
Summary
Osborne Clarke has advised redalpine, a European venture capital investor focused on technology-driven growth companies, on its participation as lead investor in the seed financing round of telli, a Berlin-based start-up specialising in AI-powered customer operations for B2C businesses. According to the publisher's announcement, telli raised USD 15 million in the round, bringing its total funding volume to USD 18.5 million. Further funds were provided by Cherry Ventures, Y Combinator, Mutschler and several business angels.
telli was founded in 2024 by Finn zur Muehlen, Philipp Baumanns and Seb Hapte-Selassie. The founders combine operational experience in building sales and service organisations, including at energy and heating technology company Enpal, with software and AI expertise. The company is developing a platform that lets businesses deploy AI agents across voice, chat, SMS, WhatsApp and email to automate customer-facing processes while aiming to improve the quality of customer communications.
The platform's core is an AI co-worker called "Charlie," which helps customer service teams set up AI agents, connect system landscapes, analyse conversations, identify issues and optimise customer operations on a data-driven basis. According to the announcement, telli's agents already handle millions of customer interactions for companies ranging from SMEs to large enterprises, including Sky, Viessmann, Enpal and Vaillant, qualifying leads, booking appointments, conducting follow-ups and resolving service requests.
Sebastian Becker, General Partner at redalpine, said the team had followed the space for some time and described the telli founders as "the most technically exceptional and complementary team we've encountered." He added that the value voice agents could unlock across enterprise automation is "immense" and that telli is "in pole position to capture the opportunity." The publisher characterises the round as a signal for the European market for AI-powered voice and multi-channel agents, showing that international investors will commit early and substantially to platforms that rethink customer operations.
Osborne Clarke provided corporate and contractual advice, including structuring the investment, negotiating financing documentation with the international investor group, and aligning venture capital-typical participation and governance provisions with the needs of a growth-oriented AI and software company. The Osborne Clarke team was led by Maximilian Vocke, with Robert Marx and Dr Espen Schneider (Corporate/Transactions), Dr Florian Reiling and Luisa Jakobs (IP), Dr Florian Eisenmenger (IT), Dr Philipp Stein (Commercial) and Anna Lehner (Employment).
telli was founded in 2024 by Finn zur Muehlen, Philipp Baumanns and Seb Hapte-Selassie. The founders combine operational experience in building sales and service organisations, including at energy and heating technology company Enpal, with software and AI expertise. The company is developing a platform that lets businesses deploy AI agents across voice, chat, SMS, WhatsApp and email to automate customer-facing processes while aiming to improve the quality of customer communications.
The platform's core is an AI co-worker called "Charlie," which helps customer service teams set up AI agents, connect system landscapes, analyse conversations, identify issues and optimise customer operations on a data-driven basis. According to the announcement, telli's agents already handle millions of customer interactions for companies ranging from SMEs to large enterprises, including Sky, Viessmann, Enpal and Vaillant, qualifying leads, booking appointments, conducting follow-ups and resolving service requests.
Sebastian Becker, General Partner at redalpine, said the team had followed the space for some time and described the telli founders as "the most technically exceptional and complementary team we've encountered." He added that the value voice agents could unlock across enterprise automation is "immense" and that telli is "in pole position to capture the opportunity." The publisher characterises the round as a signal for the European market for AI-powered voice and multi-channel agents, showing that international investors will commit early and substantially to platforms that rethink customer operations.
Osborne Clarke provided corporate and contractual advice, including structuring the investment, negotiating financing documentation with the international investor group, and aligning venture capital-typical participation and governance provisions with the needs of a growth-oriented AI and software company. The Osborne Clarke team was led by Maximilian Vocke, with Robert Marx and Dr Espen Schneider (Corporate/Transactions), Dr Florian Reiling and Luisa Jakobs (IP), Dr Florian Eisenmenger (IT), Dr Philipp Stein (Commercial) and Anna Lehner (Employment).
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.