Autentic AI's AI Agents Target 400,000 Market Research Interviews This Year

The traditional market research study is a slow, expensive machine. It requires recruiting participants, scheduling interviews, transcribing conversations, and synthesizing themes, a process that can stretch for months and cost six figures. Autentic AI, a Barcelona-based startup, is betting that machine can be almost entirely automated. Its platform uses AI agents to conduct simultaneous interviews with hundreds of verified consumers and experts, aiming to deliver qualitative findings in days, not quarters [Tech.eu, October 2026].

The Wedge Is Speed, Not Just Automation

Autentic AI's core proposition is a dramatic compression of time. The company claims its AI-powered interviews can turn conversations into decisions in 48 hours [Aniol Carreras - Autentic AI | LinkedIn, Retrieved 2026]. This is the wedge against established incumbents like Kantar, Ipsos, and NielsenIQ, whose methodologies are built around human-led processes [Cinco Días, October 2026]. The platform is designed to automate studies end-to-end, handling participant recruitment, screening, conducting video-first interviews via AI agents, and producing analyzed findings [Demòcrata, October 2026]. The output is not just raw data, but insights combined with human interpretation, positioning it as a service layer rather than a pure software tool [TheSaaSNews, Unknown].

Founders From the Spanish SaaS Scene

The company is a product of Barcelona's tight-knit tech ecosystem. Its three co-founders have backgrounds in notable local scale-ups.

• Dani Diestre was formerly with Cafler and PayFit, and served as Head of Product at Finletic [Forbes España, October 2026] [20 Caminos, Retrieved 2026].
• Aniol Carreras was previously with Lifull Connect [Tech.eu, October 2026].
• Jacob Bamio comes from the HR tech company Factorial [Cinco Días, October 2026].

Their collective experience in product management and scaling European SaaS companies informs Autentic AI's build. The team has grown to 10 people in its first six months, according to a team member's post [Lam Pau Aparici Nguyen - Autentic AI | LinkedIn, Unknown].

Early Traction and an Aggressive Goal

Operational metrics, while early, point to a high-volume approach. The company reports running more than 1,000 AI-led interviews per day for clients [Aniol Carreras - Autentic AI | LinkedIn, Retrieved 2026]. It has set a public goal of completing more than 400,000 interviews by the end of 2026 [Pablo De Lucas Martín - Kleinanzeigen | LinkedIn, Unknown]. Customer growth is described as moving from one client to "+++ customers" within six months [Lam Pau Aparici Nguyen - Autentic AI | LinkedIn, Unknown]. This velocity is what the recent funding is meant to fuel.

In October 2026, Autentic AI closed a €1.5 million (approximately $1.6 million) pre-seed round. The syndicate was led by Baobab Ventures and included Lanai Ventures, Acurio Ventures, and Masia VC [Forbes España, October 2026]. According to reports, the capital will be used for further platform development, expansion, and strengthening the participant recruitment infrastructure [Demòcrata, October 2026].

Round	Date	Amount	Lead Investor
Pre-seed	October 2026	€1.5 million	Baobab Ventures

The Realistic Competitive Set

For enterprise buyers, the decision is rarely a binary switch from an incumbent to a startup. The realistic competitive set for Autentic AI is layered. The primary budget competition comes from the traditional market research giants,Kantar, Ipsos, NielsenIQ,where the appeal is risk mitigation and proven methodologies [Cinco Días, October 2026]. The secondary competition is internal: product and insights teams opting to run their own scrappy surveys or user interview sessions, trading off depth for speed and cost control. Autentic AI's ideal customer profile is likely a mid-to-large enterprise product team or insights department that has outgrown DIY methods but is frustrated by the cost and timeline of a full-service agency engagement. They need qualitative depth at a scale and speed that was previously unavailable, and they have the budget to test a new vendor that promises it.

Where the Bet Gets Hard

The ambition is clear, but the path to enterprise credibility involves several unproven steps. The first is methodological acceptance. Will insights from AI-conducted interviews hold the same weight in a boardroom as those from a human researcher? The company's combination of AI execution with human interpretation is a direct answer to this [TheSaaSNews, Unknown]. The second is data quality at scale. Running 1,000 interviews a day requires a robust, verified participant pool; building that recruitment infrastructure is a noted use of funds, but it's a significant operational lift [Demòcrata, October 2026]. Finally, there is the renewal motion. The value proposition is strongest for exploratory, directional research. The company has not yet demonstrated its product's fit for longitudinal tracking studies or high-stakes, brand-defining positioning work, which are the high-ACV staples of the industry.

The Next Twelve Months

The coming year will be about proving the model works beyond early adopters. Key milestones to watch include the publication of any named enterprise customer case studies, which would validate the service at a higher ACV. Technically, the evolution of the AI interview agents,how they handle complex probing, emotional nuance, and unscripted responses,will be critical. Commercially, the company will likely need to demonstrate it can systematically convert its speed advantage into retained annual contracts, setting the stage for a potential seed round in late 2027 or early 2028.

Sources

1. [Forbes España, October 2026] Autentic AI cierra una ronda de 1,5 millones con Carles Reina (Baobab), Lanai, Acurio y Masia. | https://forbes.es/ultima-hora/1041035/autentic-ai-cierra-una-ronda-de-15-millones-con-carles-reina-baobab-lanai-acurio-y-masia/
2. [Tech.eu, October 2026] Spanish Autentic AI raises €1.5M to accelerate AI-powered market research | https://tech.eu/2026/10/09/spanish-autentic-ai-raises-eur15m-to-accelerate-ai-powered-market-research/
3. [Cinco Días, October 2026] Autentic AI cierra una ronda de 1,5 millones para su IA de estudios de mercado y competir con Kantar, Ipsos o NielsenIQ. | https://cincodias.elpais.com/companias/2026-10-09/autentic-ai-cierra-una-ronda-de-15-millones-para-su-ia-de-estudios-de-mercado-y-competir-con-kantar-ipsos-o-nielseniq.html
4. [Demòcrata, October 2026] Autentic AI raises 1.5 million in a pre-seed round. | https://www.democrata.es/en/economy/autentic-ai-raises-1-5-million-in-a-pre-seed-round-with-baobab-lanai-acurio-and-masia/
5. [TheSaaSNews, Unknown] Autentic AI Raises €1.5M Pre-seed | https://www.thesaasnews.com/news/autentic-ai-raises-1-5m-pre-seed/
6. [Aniol Carreras - Autentic AI | LinkedIn, Retrieved 2026] Aniol Carreras - Autentic AI | LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/aniolcarreras/
7. [Jacob Bamio Cordero - Autentic AI | LinkedIn, Retrieved 2026] Jacob Bamio Cordero - Autentic AI | LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobbamio/
8. [Lam Pau Aparici Nguyen - Autentic AI | LinkedIn, Unknown] Lam Pau Aparici Nguyen - Autentic AI | LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/lam-pau-aparici-386326170/
9. [Pablo De Lucas Martín - Kleinanzeigen | LinkedIn, Unknown] Pablo De Lucas Martín - Kleinanzeigen | LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/pablo-de-lucas-martin/
10. [20 Caminos, Retrieved 2026] 36. Dani Diestre | Detrás de las cámaras de Product Leaders by 20 Caminos | https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/20-caminos/episodes/36--Dani-Diestre--Detrs-de-las-cmaras-de-Product-Leaders-e2rkh0f