# Outset

Startup profile on Capital Atlas: https://capitalatlas.ai/startups/outset

- Industry: Software
- Headquarters: San Francisco, US
- Website: www.outset.ai
- Total disclosed funding: $67M
- Latest round: Series B (Dec 10, 2025)
- Investors on record: 12

## About

Based in California, US, and co-founded by Aaron Cannon (CEO) and Michael Hess in 2022, Parnassus Labs, Inc., trading under the name Outset operates as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company offering a platform for AI-powered user interviews to conduct qualitative research. In December 2025, Outset raised USD 30 million in series B funding led by Radical Ventures, with participation from M12, Y Combinator, Adverb Ventures, and 8VC. outset.ai provide researchers with the scale of a survey and the depth of an interview through AI-moderated conversations. Outset.ai's platform enables researchers to conduct and synthesize video, audio, and text conversations with hundreds of participants simultaneously, allowing for rapid data collection and analysis. The AI engine behind Outset parses transcripts, providing summaries, extracting themes, and highlighting impactful verbatims to facilitate storytelling and decision-making. The company’s platform also offers some features such as stimulus testing and automatic synthesis, ensuring a comprehensive research experience. The company will use the December 2025 funding to launch its AI-native platform, speed up product development, and expand globally.

## Funding rounds

- Series B, Dec 10, 2025, $30M — Y Combinator, M12, Radical Ventures, 8VC, Adverb Ventures
- Series A, Jun 11, 2025, $17M — Y Combinator, 8VC, Rebel Fund, Altman Capital, Adverb Ventures, Ritual Capital, Future Back Ventures, Genius Ventures
- Series B, May 2, 2025, $17M — M12, Radical Ventures, 8VC, Adverb Ventures, Future Back Ventures
- Seed, Oct 26, 2023, $3.8M — Matrix Partners, Weekend Fund, Adverb Ventures

## Investors

- Matrix Partners (https://capitalatlas.ai/funds/matrix-partners) — Seed
- Weekend Fund (https://capitalatlas.ai/funds/weekend-fund) — Seed
- Adverb Ventures (https://capitalatlas.ai/funds/adverb-ventures) — Seed, Series B, Series A
- M12 (https://capitalatlas.ai/funds/m12) — Series B
- Radical Ventures (https://capitalatlas.ai/funds/radical-ventures) — Series B
- 8VC (https://capitalatlas.ai/funds/8vc) — Series B, Series A
- Future Back Ventures (https://capitalatlas.ai/funds/future-back-ventures) — Series B, Series A
- Y Combinator (https://capitalatlas.ai/funds/y-combinator) — Series A, Series B
- Rebel Fund (https://capitalatlas.ai/funds/rebel-fund) — Series A
- Altman Capital (https://capitalatlas.ai/funds/altman-capital) — Series A
- Ritual Capital (https://capitalatlas.ai/funds/ritual-capital) — Series A
- Genius Ventures — Series A