Ghent Startup Donna Secures $4.8 Million to Revolutionize Field Sales

A Ghent-based startup, Donna, has successfully raised $4.8 million in seed funding to enhance its AI assistant tailored for field sales teams. Founded by Nicolas Christiaen, Jonas Deprez, and Xander Berkein, the company aims to address the challenges faced by sales representatives who often struggle with existing office-centric tools that hinder their efficiency on the road.

Field sales teams dedicate a significant portion of their time to travel and in-person meetings with clients. Unfortunately, traditional sales tools are typically designed for office environments, leading to cumbersome administrative tasks, ineffective mobile app usability, and incomplete customer relationship management (CRM) records. Donna seeks to change this dynamic by automating vital tasks such as meeting preparation, note-taking, real-time CRM updates, and follow-up communications.

Nicolas Christiaen and Jonas Deprez expressed their motivations for creating Donna, stating, “Donna was actually born from our own frustrations as founders who spent a lot of time on the road meeting customers. We saw first-hand how existing sales tools weren’t suited for mobile teams and wanted to change that.” They emphasized the misconception that field sales is merely office sales conducted on wheels, highlighting the complexity of the field sales environment.

Donna’s Technology and Impact

With its recent funding round led by Frontline Ventures and supported by investors like Pitchdrive, Fortino Capital, and several angel investors, Donna is poised for growth. The startup’s AI assistant has demonstrated remarkable effectiveness, with clients reporting up to 75% less administrative work, a 10x increase in CRM adoption, cleaner data, and up to 20% higher conversion rates.

The technology integrates seamlessly with major platforms, including Salesforce, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics 365, HubSpot, Outlook, and Google Calendar, and supports over 40 languages. It provides personalized briefings before meetings, captures detailed notes automatically during discussions, and drafts follow-up emails with minimal manual input. This integration fosters a “system of context” for each salesperson, ensuring they work efficiently and consistently.

Jonas Deprez, co-CEO and co-founder, stated, “At Donna, we believe B2B business will always require human-to-human interaction. AI shouldn’t replace that—it should elevate it. With Donna, we already proved today that AI can be deployed with a quick time to value and at scale in real-world operations.”

In contrast to other tools such as Salesforce Einstein and HubSpot Sales Hub, Donna is specifically engineered for mobile field sales, focusing on the automation of nuanced tasks and providing real-time interactive support.

Diversity and Future Plans

When asked about the importance of diversity within their team, the founders proudly noted that over 40% of their engineering and product staff identify as women or minorities. They consider diversity a crucial driver of creativity essential for developing truly global products.

Looking ahead, Donna aims to accelerate adoption, deepen integrations with enterprise systems, and solidify its position as the go-to AI assistant for field sales teams. The founders indicated that their next steps include expanding into North America and launching new integrations that will enhance on-the-go productivity for sales professionals.

“Sales reps want to spend time selling, not trawling through CRMs to keep them up to date. For field-based reps, that admin burden is even heavier, with less time at the desk and fewer hands to spare for note-taking and follow-ups,” noted Will Prendergast, Partner at Frontline Ventures. “Donna’s multimodal product fits how field sales really works, equipping an overlooked market with better tools so teams can focus on hitting quota.”

With this innovative approach, Donna is set to transform the field sales landscape, enabling teams to maximize their productivity and effectiveness.