Battery Ventures has promoted two professionals to investment partner roles. Max Schireson, former MongoDB CEO who has served as an operating partner at Battery for a decade, will transition to investing in AI models, quantum computing and robotics companies. Roland Anderson, who joined Battery in 2014, has been promoted to partner focusing on growth and late-stage technology investments. Schireson has advised numerous Battery portfolio companies including ClickHouse, Databricks and Quantum Machines. Anderson currently sits on the boards of several portfolio companies and was involved with ServiceTitan, which went public on Nasdaq in late 2024. Both partners will make investments from Battery's latest $3.25 billion fund, Battery Ventures XV, which closed earlier this year.

Nexthop AI raises $500M at $4.2B evaluation, to build the most efficient AI infrastructure

Y Combinator joins $40m series B in US startup Letter AI. Letter AI has raised US$40 million in series B funding, led by Battery Ventures, with participation from existing investors including Y Combinator and Lightbank, four months after its series A. The funding supports the launch of Letter Compass, a new enablement platform that integrates customer and deal data from CRM systems to provide personalized guidance for sales teams. Letter Compass aims to deliver real-time, deal-specific coaching, messaging, and content tailored to individual customer interactions. The company states that this approach connects enablement directly to deal workflows, aiming to improve outcomes for revenue teams. Letter AI was founded to address gaps in legacy enablement platforms, which often fail to adapt to the dynamic nature of modern sales. The company plans to use the new funding to accelerate development and expand its offerings. More information and demos are available on request. Food for thought. Implications, context, and why it matters. Investors back a direct challenge to sales software giants. * Letter AI closed a US$40 million Series B four months after announcing its Series A, which signals strong appetite for tools aimed at sales and other revenue teams 1. * Letter AI is taking on sales and enablement platforms such as Gong, Seismic, and Highspot. Investors cite its "native AI architecture" as an edge over rivals adding AI to older products 1. * The company already works with enterprise customers. It has also picked up momentum rankings on the software review platform G2 1. The workflow focus changes how enterprise software works. * Letter AI fits a broader move in enterprise software. Teams are shifting from passive systems that store customer and deal data, such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, toward tools that put guidance inside live deal workflow and use deal context to tailor coaching and messaging 2. * Salespeople and sales enablement teams face "cognitive load" when they must choose the right message or content for a specific customer at the right time 3. * An internal company poll found 44% of sales enablement failures came from content that was not relevant at the moment it was needed 3. * This approach pushes business software to deliver just-in-time answers and next steps inside day-to-day sales work. "Steps to outcome" becomes a clearer measure than counting features 3. How would you feel if you could no longer use Tech in Asia? Share, tag us, and land on our Wall of!