Monaco Just Launched — Here's What It Means for B2B Sales
Today, February 11, 2026, Monaco officially launched its AI-native sales platform with $35M in the bank.
The coverage has been everywhere — TechCrunch, Yahoo Finance, Business Insider. The founding team reads like a B2B sales dream team. The investor list includes the Collison brothers (Stripe), Garry Tan (YC president), and Founders Fund leading the round.
But beyond the headlines, what does Monaco's launch actually mean for B2B sales teams? Here's our take.
What Happened
Monaco raised $35M in total funding — $10M seed and $25M Series A, both led by Founders Fund. The platform is now in public beta.
The founding team:
- Sam Blond — formerly head of sales at Brex, then VC at Founders Fund
- Brian Blond — VC at Human Capital and Sutter Hill Ventures
- Abishek Viswanathan — formerly CPO at Apollo and Qualtrics
- Malay Desai — formerly SVP Engineering at Clari
The product: an all-in-one AI-native sales platform combining CRM, prospect database, email outbound, and meeting notes — targeting seed and Series A startups.
Five Things This Means for B2B Sales
1. AI-Native Sales Tools Are the New Standard
Monaco's launch isn't just about Monaco. It's a signal that the market has shifted. Building from scratch with AI as the foundation — not bolting AI onto legacy software — is now the expected approach.
This matters for every existing sales tool. If you're Salesforce, HubSpot, or any incumbent CRM, Monaco's launch is a reminder that AI-native competitors are coming. Fast.
For buyers: Expect every sales platform to accelerate its AI roadmap. Competition drives innovation. You benefit.
2. Human-in-the-Loop Is Winning the Narrative
Notice what Monaco DIDN'T promise: fully autonomous AI SDRs. Instead, they embedded experienced human salespeople to guide the AI.
This is a deliberate philosophical choice — and it's the right one. Sam Blond has seen enough sales tools from the Founders Fund portfolio to know that full automation doesn't work in complex B2B sales. The 11x/Artisan "replace your SDR" approach is fading in favor of "augment your SDR" or "guide your AI."
MarketBetter has been saying this for years. It's good to see the market converge on the same conclusion.
3. The All-in-One Battle Is Heating Up
Monaco wants to be the only tool a startup needs for sales. That's ambitious — and it means every platform that offers a piece of the sales stack is now a competitor.
- CRM: Salesforce, HubSpot, Attio, Pipedrive
- Data: ZoomInfo, Apollo, Clearbit
- Outreach: Outreach, SalesLoft, MarketBetter
- AI SDR: 11x, Artisan, MarketBetter
- Meeting notes: Gong, Chorus, Fireflies
Monaco wants to replace all of them. The question is whether one platform can truly do everything well, or whether best-of-breed tools integrated together deliver better results.
History suggests best-of-breed wins for most teams. But all-in-one wins for simplicity-focused teams. Both paths are valid.
4. Startup-Focused Sales Tools Are a Real Category
Monaco is explicitly building for seed and Series A startups. Not mid-market. Not enterprise. Startups.
This is smart positioning — there's a clear underserved segment. Most sales tools are either too expensive (Salesforce, ZoomInfo) or too complex (HubSpot at scale) for a 5-person startup.
But it's also a limitation. Companies grow. If Monaco's ideal customer raises a Series B and hires their 50th employee, will they outgrow the platform? That's the risk of narrow positioning.
Platforms like MarketBetter avoid this by building for startup through mid-market — you never outgrow the tool.
5. The Feature Gaps Create Opportunities
Monaco launched without:
- Website visitor identification
- Smart dialer / phone outreach
- AI chatbot for inbound
- Daily SDR playbook
- Published pricing
Each of these gaps is an opportunity for other platforms. If you're evaluating Monaco and need any of these capabilities, you'll either need to supplement with additional tools (defeating the all-in-one promise) or choose a more complete platform.
What Should You Do?
If you're a B2B sales leader watching Monaco's launch, here's our advice:
If you're a seed-stage startup:
Monaco is worth evaluating alongside MarketBetter. Consider your specific needs — if email-only outbound is sufficient and you want a built-in CRM, Monaco could work. If you need visitor identification, phone, chat, or daily playbook, MarketBetter is more complete.
If you're Series B+:
Monaco isn't building for you. Continue evaluating platforms that scale with your growth — MarketBetter, HubSpot, or purpose-built tools for your specific needs.
If you're already on a sales platform:
Don't switch based on hype. Evaluate based on gaps. Does your current tool identify website visitors? Does it have an AI chatbot? Daily playbook? Smart dialer? If you're missing these, consider adding MarketBetter to your stack.
If you're watching the space:
The AI sales category is still early. The winners haven't been decided yet. But the direction is clear: AI-native design, human-in-the-loop philosophy, and multichannel coverage. Look for platforms that check all three boxes.
Our Take
We respect Monaco's launch. The team is excellent. The approach is philosophically sound. The funding gives them runway to iterate and improve.
But today — right now — Monaco has significant feature gaps. No visitor identification, no dialer, no chatbot, no daily playbook. For a platform promising to be all-in-one, that's a lot of missing pieces.
MarketBetter offers all of those capabilities today, with proven results (4.97/5 on G2), transparent pricing, and a track record of helping B2B teams drive pipeline.
Monaco's launch is great for the industry. It's great for competition. But if you need results now, don't wait for a beta to mature.
MarketBetter is ready today. Visitor identification, AI chatbot, smart dialer, daily playbook — all proven, all included. Book a demo and see why teams choose MarketBetter.