Europe’s answer to Gong: Kickscale lands €2.1M to build the continent’s leading AI sales platform

An AI sales intelligence platform built for European businesses has raised a €2.1M Seed round to fuel expansion across the continent and beyond. Kickscale, founded in Austria, aims to become the go-to alternative for small and medium-sized enterprises looking for a data-secure, multilingual, and locally aware solution to optimise their sales performance.
The €2.1M Seed round was led by aws Gründungsfonds, withaltitude, Calm/Storm Ventures, and Carinthian Venture Fund participation. Existing backers, including Julius Göllner (former CEO of Zalando Lounge), social media entrepreneur Michael Kamleitner, and Bitmovin co-founders Stefan Lederer and Christopher Mueller, also joined the round.
AltitudeVC’s partner Ingo Drexler explained their thesis, saying, “We’ve invested in Kickscale precisely because they offer European businesses the sovereign technology alternative they need. Every day European SMEs continue to rely on US sales platforms is another day of unnecessary vulnerability to American political whims. The time for digital independence is now and we are proud to be growing together with the excellent Kickscale team.”
Kickscale assists sales managers with handling calls in multiple languages and interpreting customer intent across borders. It helps coaches remote teams and keeps CRM records up to date. Its AI sales intelligence platform is built for European businesses and meets operational, legal, and cultural needs. Additionally, it simplifies workflows and boosts closing rates by up to 24%.
Unlike major US-based platforms like Gong, Kickscale’s AI sales intelligence platform is developed from the ground up for European companies. This includes advanced support for local languages, GDPR compliance, and regional business culture sensitivity.
Kickscale has already secured over 100 global customers across the UK, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and Japan. These include HILL International Group, Haufe Group, KK Company, ApprovalMax, and bookingkit.
Customers praise Kickscale’s ability to bridge the gap between global capabilities and local needs. Hans Christian Heinemeyer, Chief Revenue Officer at bookingkit, shared, “We’ve looked into several US-based platforms, but it felt like they were built for a different business culture and mostly for big enterprises. Their approach simply didn’t match how we build and maintain client relationships in the DACH region and in Europe in general. Furthermore, GDPR and legal compliance is a crucial requirement for us.”
In Japan, the product’s multilingual AI has also proven effective. Hisa Machida, Director of Solutions Support at KK Company Japan, stated, “Kickscale has proven to be an outstanding solution for our sales team here in Japan. The platform handles Japanese language conversations with impressive accuracy, which is not always true with global tools. We truly see the value in having a revenue intelligence platform that understands and supports local markets.”
Kickscale was founded byGerald Zankl,Markus Jenul,Fabian Riedlsperger, andHerwig Gangl. They are experienced IT and scale-up professionals from Carinthia, southern Austria. The founding team previously held executive roles at companies like Bitmovin, Anyline, and Holo-Light. These ventures have grown to valuations exceeding $500M.
Launched in 2020, the team initially self-funded the business. They received support from organisations such as the Carinthian Business Promotion Fund (KWF), the Vienna Business Agency, and local Chambers of Commerce. After a strategic pivot in 2024, Kickscale emerged with a new focus on revenue intelligence tailored for European SMEs.
Co-founder and CEO Gerald Zankl explained the vision: “Kickscale is designed specifically for European SME and Mid-Market companies with unwavering commitments to data privacy, seamless usability, and sophisticated multilingual capabilities that understand the nuances of European dialects and business cultures. European businesses have relied on US tech giants for critical sales intelligence tools for far too long. Today’s political uncertainties make it clear that Europe needs more sovereign technology solutions. We’re building an alternative to US platforms that currently dominate the global market.”
Kickscale will use the funding to expand across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Its AI sales intelligence platform aligns sales, marketing, and product teams. Kickscale improves forecasting, performance tracking, and deal management. It reduces admin tasks with automated notetaking and meeting insights, saving sales reps 40 hours on routine admin.
The platform’s ability to record and analyse offline sales meetings, such as those held at trade shows or on-site client visits, via smartphone is especially valued by field sales teams, further differentiating Kickscale from competitors.
Kickscale’s AI seamlessly integrates with leading CRM and meeting tools, including Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Microsoft Dynamics, Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams. European SMEs can enhance their existing workflows without costly or disruptive migrations.
Zankl and his team plan further product enhancements and hiring to support international expansion. Kickscale aims to be a credible alternative to dominant US platforms, emphasising sovereignty and regional relevance. The company’s growth also aligns with the broader push for digital independence in Europe, as underscored by the EU’s new AI Act, the world’s first comprehensive legal framework for AI, which places a premium on responsible, transparent, and locally compliant AI solutions.
Kickscale’s rise highlights a broader trend: European businesses seek homegrown, culturally attuned AI solutions that deliver operational excellence and regulatory peace of mind. With the European sales intelligence market expected to surpass $1 billion by 2027 and generative AI accounting for an ever-larger share of enterprise software, Kickscale is well-positioned to become a pillar of Europe’s digital future.
As Kickscale accelerates its expansion, its progress will be closely watched as a bellwether for Europe’s ability to build globally competitive, regionally relevant technology, and as a sign that the continent’s digital sovereignty ambitions are becoming reality.