"AI That Enhances People" Grows Threefold - Yoodli, a Team from Google, Valued Over $300 Million; "Non-Replacement AI" is Transforming Corporate Training

Valuation Triples, "AI That Doesn't Replace People" Takes Center Stage

The news of the generative AI boom often stirs anxiety about jobs being taken over by AI. Amidst this trend, a startup is deliberately taking a contrarian approach. That startup is Yoodli, based in Seattle.

In December 2025, the company announced a $40 million Series B funding round. This pushed its valuation to over $300 million, tripling in just six months. The total funding raised has reached approximately $60 million, and Yoodli is transitioning from a niche player in "communication practice" using AI to a full-fledged enterprise player.TechCrunch

The keyword that Yoodli champions is "AI built to assist, not replace people"—the idea that AI should support rather than replace humans. This message is currently resonating strongly on social media within the tech industry.

What is Yoodli?

In short, Yoodli is a "flight simulator for conversations."

Users can choose from various scenarios on the browser, such as sales negotiations, feedback meetings as a manager, job interviews, one-on-ones, and leadership coaching. An AI-powered "counterpart" appears on the other side of the screen, reacting in real-time to the user's statements. It can pose unexpected questions or deliberately adopt a difficult attitude, allowing users to engage in interactions as if they were in a real situation.TechCrunch

After a session, users receive quantitative and qualitative feedback on aspects such as speaking speed, pauses, the frequency of negative expressions, and how well they picked up on the counterpart's statements. Companies can customize role-play scripts and evaluation metrics to align with their sales processes and management models.

Initially, Yoodli started as a consumer tool focused on practicing presentations and speeches. However, as users began using it for interview preparation, sales pitches, and difficult feedback meetings, the company's main arena naturally shifted to corporate training.TechCrunch

Currently, not only tech companies like Google, Snowflake, Databricks, and RingCentral, but also coaching firms like FranklinCovey are among its clients. They integrate their own methods into Yoodli and offer it to clients as "original training with AI."TechCrunch

Yoodli by the Numbers: 9x Revenue, 3x Employees

Behind this large funding round is a rather aggressive growth curve.

・May 2025: Raised $13.7 million in Series A
・December 2025: Raised $40 million in Series B (led by WestBridge Capital, with participation from Neotribe, Madrona, etc.)
・Valuation tripled to over $300 million in six months
・Revenue grew approximately 900% over the past year, and the number of employees increased to over 40, about three times the previous count

Particularly, the pace of revenue growth and organizational expansion is quite aggressive even for a B2B SaaS startup.GeekWire

While Yoodli has not disclosed specific user numbers, they explained to TechCrunch that the number of role-plays conducted on the platform and the total practice time increased by about 1.5 times between Series A and B.TechCrunch

The funds will be used to enhance AI coaching features, analytics capabilities, personalization, and accelerate global expansion, including in the APAC region. Particularly, the focus on non-English-speaking regions, such as Japanese, Korean, and multiple Indian languages, is noteworthy for Japanese users.TechCrunch

"AI Takes You from 0 to 8; The Last 1-2 is Up to Humans"

CEO Varun Puri often shares his experience of moving from India to the US at the age of 18. He has seen many talented individuals not being properly evaluated due to differences in accent or self-expression styles.

This led him to the idea of creating a place where anyone can practice safely using AI. He believes that "AI can elevate people from zero to 'quite good,' but the final nuances and human touch are polished through dialogue with human coaches and peers."TechCrunch

In practice, Yoodli is designed with a "collaborative model" in mind,

• where daily practice and feedback are handled by AI

• and important milestones and emotional support are provided by human coaches.
  By leveraging data from AI sessions, human coaches can better understand "where users tend to get stuck" and "what habits they have," enabling them to offer more in-depth sessions.TechCrunch
  
  

Decisive Differences from Traditional Training: Unlimited Role-Play and a "Judgment-Free Zone"

Puri criticizes traditional corporate training as "passive learning that ends with skimming through long materials or videos." Many business people have experienced feeling like they've learned something, only to find themselves at a loss for words in actual negotiations or meetings.TechCrunch

Yoodli aims for the exact opposite.

1. Practice-Centric
   The focus of practice is always on the user's speech. The AI counterpart is merely there to "keep throwing the ball."

2. Unlimited "At-Bats"
   Traditional role-plays are limited by time and manpower, restricting the number of experiences one can have. With Yoodli, users can try as many times as they want until they are satisfied.

3. Less Fear of Evaluation
   When dealing with bosses or colleagues, there's a psychological barrier of not wanting to show weaknesses, but with AI, there's no embarrassment in failing. In an interview with GeekWire, a user mentioned, "Because it's AI, I can practice closer to my true self."GeekWire

This balance of a "judgment-free zone" and "practice close to reality" is appealing to both companies and individuals.

Reactions on Social Media: Celebratory Mood and Cautious Views

The recent funding and high valuation have become a hot topic on social media.

Numerous Congratulations and Expectations on LinkedIn

• The post announcing the funding attracted comments from investors, partner companies, and SaaS industry stakeholders, such as "Congratulations" and "AI role-play will revolutionize sales coaching."LinkedIn

• Positive feedback from product marketers and sales managers in the field, such as "One of my favorite AI tools" and "Will become the new standard for sales enablement," is also prominent.LinkedIn

More Diverse Discussions on X (formerly Twitter) and Tech Forums

• Comments like "A good example of using AI to enhance skills without replacing people," highlighting it as a symbol of "Human-first AI"

• Cautious views like "Isn't a valuation of over $300 million an AI bubble?"

• Concerns about "how confidentiality and privacy are ensured when AI learns from employee conversation data"

In a Techmeme thread, the news link is accompanied by evaluations like "Yoodli is becoming one of the category leaders in the AI coaching market."

Thus, rather than a purely celebratory mood, there is a mix of expectations for the concept of "AI that enhances people" and cautious views on data usage and AI dependency.

Why Communication AI Coaches Are Thriving Now

Yoodli's rise can be seen as the result of several converging trends.

1. Normalization of Remote Work and Global Teams
   With online meetings becoming the norm, the importance of presentations, facilitation, and one-on-ones has undoubtedly increased. On the other hand, nuances that were conveyed face-to-face are harder to communicate online, exposing the "conversation skill gap" among managers and leaders.

2. Reinvention Needs for Enterprise Training
   Many companies have introduced LMS (Learning Management Systems) and e-learning, but face the problem of "watched the video, but behavior hasn't changed." Yoodli serves as a solution for this dissatisfaction.GeekWire

3. AI as a "Safe Experimentation Ground"
   Failing in actual negotiations or evaluation meetings can directly damage sales or careers. With AI, failures have no real-world impact. This aligns well with the recent management trend emphasizing psychological safety.

4. Utilization of Global Talent
   The issue of non-natives being undervalued due to accent or cultural differences is deep-rooted. Given Puri's own background, Yoodli is increasingly discussed in the context of "communication AI that non-natives can use as a tool."TechCrunch
   
   

Potential in the APAC and Japanese Markets