Brett Taylor and Clay Bavor, two prominent Silicon Valley figures with impressive tech backgrounds, have co-founded Sierra, a startup focused on revolutionizing customer service through AI agents. Taylor, who has held leadership roles at Google, Facebook, Salesforce, Twitter, and OpenAI, serves as Sierra’s CEO. Bavor, an 18-year Google veteran with experience in virtual and augmented reality, joined forces with Taylor in 2023 to create AI-driven customer service solutions. The company embraces a mountain-themed identity, symbolized by their unique tradition of blowing an 11.5-foot California redwood alpenhorn to celebrate new customers, reflecting their unconventional and creative culture.
Sierra’s AI agents handle complex customer service tasks such as returns and subscription cancellations, which traditionally required human representatives or basic website bots. Their technology aims to transform how businesses interact with customers across multiple platforms, including text, phone, apps, and WhatsApp. Unlike typical reactive bots, Sierra’s agents are designed to be proactive and personalized, acting like personal concierges that remember past interactions and offer tailored suggestions. For example, a carrier’s AI agent might proactively offer free data when a customer travels abroad, enhancing the customer experience beyond simple complaint resolution.
The company targets large enterprises, with over half of its clients generating more than $1 billion in revenue and 20% exceeding $10 billion. Notable customers include The North Face, Rivian, ADT, and Sirius XM. Sierra is on track to surpass $100 million in annualized revenue by January 2026, reflecting strong market demand. The AI customer service sector is rapidly expanding, expected to grow from $12 billion in 2024 to nearly $50 billion by 2030. Sierra competes with companies like Decagon, Customer, and Intercom, while also drawing interest from major investors such as Sequoia, Benchmark, Thrive, and Green Oaks, who recently invested $350 million, valuing the company at $10 billion and making both founders billionaires.
Taylor and Bavor’s partnership dates back to their early days at Google, where they met in a product management program and bonded over shared interests like poker. Their careers took different paths within the tech industry, with Bavor focusing on Google’s productivity and VR projects, and Taylor becoming a key figure in social media and enterprise software innovation. Their combined expertise in consumer technology, enterprise solutions, and AI uniquely positions them to lead Sierra’s ambitious vision of transforming customer service through intelligent agents.
Inspired by the release of ChatGPT and the reshuffling of the AI landscape, Taylor and Bavor decided to launch Sierra to capitalize on the potential of AI in business communication. Their goal is to make AI agents the primary interface for customer interactions, moving beyond targeted advertising to deliver genuine personalization and proactive service. With their strong leadership, innovative approach, and significant financial backing, Sierra is poised to become a major player in the evolving AI-driven customer service industry.