Why VCs Are Investing in AI Sales Tools — And Why CEE Founders Should Pay Attention

If you’ve worked in sales recently, you’ve probably felt it: the pressure to close deals faster, with fewer resources, and way more complexity. The usual tactics—hiring more SDRs, sending cold emails, guessing who might convert—just aren’t cutting it anymore. Buyers are more informed, the competition is fiercer, and sales teams are stretched thinner than ever.

That’s why AI tools are starting to feel less like a “nice-to-have” and more like the backbone of modern sales operations. Not because they’re flashy or futuristic, but because they quietly fix what’s broken: too much admin, not enough insight, and a whole lot of missed opportunities.

At GapMinder, we’ve been watching this shift closely. We recently made our first investment in a startup building AI-powered tools for sales, and we’re convinced this is one of the most compelling areas for VC investing in sales tools. More importantly, we believe Central and Eastern European founders are well positioned to lead this wave.

Sales Is Changing—Fast

Traditionally, sales was built on instinct, hustle, and manual effort. You’d research leads, chase them down, send out follow-ups, and hope your gut was right. But today, that model isn’t scalable—and it doesn’t work in an environment where teams need to be lean, agile, and data-driven.

Gartner predicts that by 2026, 75% of B2B sales organizations will move from intuition-led processes to AI-guided selling. This isn’t some distant future—it’s already happening. More than half of sales teams are already using or piloting AI tools, and that number is climbing fast.

And the reason is simple: AI helps teams sell smarter. It automates repetitive work, surfaces real-time insights, personalizes outreach, and even coaches reps during calls. Instead of throwing more people at the problem, AI helps you get more out of the people (and data) you already have.

What AI Is Actually Doing in Sales

So what does AI in sales look like in practice? It spans a wide range of functions, but the impact is surprisingly tangible. Here are a few examples:

• Lead Prioritization: AI can score and rank leads by analyzing engagement, behavior, and historical data—so reps focus their time on deals most likely to close.
• Personalized Outreach: Tools can recommend the best messaging, format, and timing for each contact based on their preferences and past interactions.
• Forecasting: AI-driven sales forecasts are far more accurate than manual ones, thanks to real-time data analysis and pattern recognition.
• Sales Coaching: Some tools now offer live call coaching, post-call feedback, or even simulate negotiations to help reps improve.

Rather than replacing salespeople, AI acts more like a super-assistant—quietly taking care of the boring stuff so teams can focus on what they do best: building relationships and closing deals. Also, because AI is becoming smarter, the time of automated sales messages sent to everyone is soon to end. 

Real Results, Real Momentum

The numbers behind this shift are hard to ignore by a VC investing in sales tools. 

In 2024, the global market for AI-powered sales tools hit $124.4 billion, and it’s expected to more than triple to $409.4 billion by 2033. That’s a compound annual growth rate of over 14%. Why the surge? Because AI works.

• Sales teams using AI are 1.3x more likely to report revenue growth.
• 83% of AI-using teams saw higher revenues in 2024, compared to 66% of those without AI.
• Sellers who use AI daily are 2.5x more likely to exceed their quota.
• AI-powered outreach boosts response rates by 28%.
• And CRM tools with AI features can shorten the sales cycle by up to a week.

The Tools Changing the Game

A growing number of platforms are making AI-powered sales productivity more accessible. Here are a few worth knowing:

• Salesforce Einstein: Bakes AI right into your CRM—helping with things like lead scoring, forecasting, and follow-up suggestions. It’s been setting the standard for a while now.

• HubSpot Sales Hub: Adds AI-powered insights to HubSpot’s already friendly CRM. Think deal scoring, meeting follow-ups, and tips on when and how to reach out.

• Skylead (Serbia): Combines LinkedIn automation with email outreach in one clean interface. You can build smart sequences that adapt to how leads respond—and it even lets you personalize messages with images and GIFs. Good value too, with everything included in a flat monthly plan.

• HeyReach (North Macedonia): Another solid pick for LinkedIn and email outreach. It’s easy to set up, and lets you build campaigns using drag-and-drop logic. A nice option for small teams and agencies.

• Reply.io (Ukraine): Covers email, LinkedIn, SMS, and even calls. Great if you want to run more complex outreach across channels, and still keep things personalized. Plus, it plays well with most CRMs.

• SalesTools (Romania): Handles everything from finding leads to messaging them on LinkedIn and email, answering objections, and following up—instantly, 24/7. It keeps learning and improving, making it a strong alternative to scaling with human SDRs.

These tools represent the kind of innovation that VC investing in sales tools is targeting—high-impact, scalable, and already delivering ROI.

It’s Not All Smooth Sailing

Despite all the momentum, AI adoption in sales isn’t without challenges. Many teams still struggle with:

• Data silos that limit how well AI can function
• Low user adoption, especially when tools feel clunky or intrusive
• Privacy concerns around how customer data is used and stored

These are solvable problems—and they also create openings for founders to build smarter, more secure, and more user-friendly tools. Solutions that integrate seamlessly into existing workflows, protect sensitive data, and deliver clear value to frontline salespeople will win.

Why Now—and Why CEE Founders?

Sales has always been part science, part art. AI doesn’t change that—it just gives you better tools for both. It handles the repetitive tasks, crunches the data, and helps you make sharper decisions, faster.

The timing couldn’t be better for founders building in this space. AI is no longer in the “exploration” phase—it’s becoming part of the daily sales toolkit. And as generative AI, autonomous agents, and real-time analytics continue to mature, there’s a growing appetite for tools that bring it all together.

CEE founders in particular have a big advantage: strong technical talent, access to global markets, and a growing ecosystem of early adopters. Sales is a universal function. If you can solve for it in Bucharest, Sofia, or Warsaw, you can scale it globally.

We’re a VC fund investing in sales tools—not just because the market is huge, but because the ROI is already proving itself. We’ve just made our first investment in this vertical, and we’re actively looking for more builders who are ready to rethink how sales works.