UK-based conversational AI firm OpenFi has raised £500,000 in a pre-seed funding round.

The company’s flagship product SalesTalkAI generates human-like conversations over WhatsApp, email, and social media channels.

The product’s chatbot then filters and qualifies leads before these are passed on to human sales reps.

The round was led by UK restaurant industry entrepreneur Bijan Morvaridi and also included capital from Fortune Green Capital and Foundation Ventures.

Sam Oliver, OpenFi’s CEO and founder had previously led LeadPro, a lead-generation platform for estate agents.

The new funding will be used to expand OpenFi’s product team and to build a second version of its platform. It will also be used for integration with a UK financial institution and to work closely with the FCA on AI compliance.

“Having worked in the restaurant business for years, I know how important personal service is,” said Bijan Morvaridi. “OpenFi’s technology is the first AI application I’ve experienced that felt human and personal, that’s why I am backing the company.”

Sam Oliver said: “This conversational AI technology enables companies to give a far more satisfying customer experience, at a higher profit margin.”

He added: “We’re creating a win-win-win situation for customers, companies and our investors.”

Conversational AI chatbots have been attracting significant investment the world over, in February PayPal Ventures co-led a $30 million funding round in Rasa, a generative AI (GenAI) platform.

Rasa develops an AI assistant which is designed to facilitate “coherent and natural” user interactions.

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