Ukrainian SalesTech Startup Big Sister AI Wins $100,000 at Texas AI Challenge
Ukrainian SalesTech Startup Big Sister AI Wins $100,000 at Texas AI Challenge
Big Sister AI, an innovative Ukrainian-founded SalesTech startup headquartered in Austin, Texas, recently triumphed at the Texas AI Challenge by securing the $100,000 grand prize. This prestigious competition, held in Dallas on August 7, 2025, spotlighted early-stage AI startups, and among more than 90 competitors, Big Sister AI emerged as a clear winner.
This victory not only highlights the startup's cutting-edge AI-driven approach to sales performance but also underscores its growing footprint in the US tech ecosystem.
About Big Sister AI: Revolutionizing Sales Performance with AI
Founded in 2022 by Valentyn Yaromenko and Lucy Yaromenko, Big Sister AI operates both out of Austin and maintains a development center in Kyiv. The company's mission addresses a critical gap in sales management: improving the quality of human interactions during the sales process. Unlike traditional sales management based on gut feelings or guesswork, Big Sister AI leverages artificial intelligence to generate objective, real-time insights.
The platform acts as an AI-powered sales assistant that integrates seamlessly with major CRMs like Zoho, HubSpot, and Pipedrive. Its core functionality includes building comprehensive sales methodologies with its Sales Book feature, scoring and improving essential skills across calls, emails, meetings, and CRM interactions, and delivering personalized, analytics-based recommendations.
This focus on enhancing individual salesperson skills makes Big Sister AI unique compared to other sales tools that primarily focus on managing sales pipelines rather than coaching and productivity improvement.
Insights from Valentyn Yaromenko’s Pitch: Practical Takeaways for Sales Leaders
Valentyn Yaromenko’s pitch at the Texas AI Challenge offers smart, actionable advice for sales leaders looking to improve team performance:
- Ditch the Gut Feel: Relying on intuition alone to manage sales teams is like "sales astrology." Instead, utilize data and AI to gain objective insights into what truly drives sales success.
- Measure Skills, Not Just Results: Like sports teams track player skills beyond the scoreboard, focus on individual salesperson skills — such as listening, objection handling, and follow-up quality — for deeper improvement.
- Small Gains, Big Impact: Even a 5% improvement in sales skills can translate into significant revenue growth without needing to expand your pipeline.
- Use “Game Tape,” Not Just Box Scores: Go beyond surface metrics and analyze sales interactions in detail. This helps identify specific coaching points to boost team effectiveness.
- Combine AI and Human Coaching: AI should empower managers with precise insights and personalized coaching plans, rather than replacing the human touch in leadership.
These recommendations emphasize the power of skill-building through smart technology, encouraging sales leaders to embrace data-driven coaching to unlock hidden revenue potential.
Strategic Growth and Market Potential
Big Sister AI is strategically positioned within the $8 billion SalesTech market, initially targeting a $208 million segment in the U.S. tech SMBs space.
With $460,000 raised so far, including the $100,000 prize from the Texas AI Challenge, Big Sister AI is actively scaling its product development and strengthening partnerships, particularly in the Dallas area.
Additionally, the company is an alumnus of multiple accelerator programs, including Plug and Play Enterprise AI and Oracle NetSuite, embedding itself deeper within the enterprise ecosystem. These collaborations provide valuable resources, including cloud ERP integration, expert consulting, and access to venture capital networks, thereby enhancing the company’s potential for rapid expansion.
Why Sales Leaders Should Care
Sales leaders in the U.S. and beyond face persistent challenges: inconsistent sales team performance, missed opportunities due to unmeasurable skills gaps, and the need to modernize sales coaching with data-driven insights.
Big Sister AI offers a refreshing solution that transcends traditional CRM analytics by focusing on continuous skill improvement and personalized coaching powered by AI.
Key takeaways for sales executives include:
- Objective Measurement: Move beyond subjective gut feelings to data-driven assessments of each salesperson’s strengths and areas for improvement.
- Personalized Coaching: Use AI to deliver tailored advice and development plans that help salespeople improve where it matters most.
- Increased Revenue Potential: A modest improvement in skill quality can lead to substantial revenue growth without necessitating expanded pipelines.
- Strategic Sales Management: Gain transparency into sales team performance through real-time analytics and actionable insights.
- Competitive Advantage: Early adoption of AI-powered sales coaching can differentiate your business in a crowded marketplace.
In short, embracing AI tools like Big Sister AI empowers sales leaders and their teams to achieve sustainable sales growth with efficiency and skill precision.
Learn More and Follow Big Sister AI’s Journey
The future of sales is powered by intelligent, actionable insights that elevate human skills rather than replace them. Big Sister AI exemplifies this evolution in SalesTech. To read more about their recent success and journey, visit the Austin Business Journal article on Big Sister AI’s Texas AI Challenge victory.
For entrepreneurs, CEOs, and heads of sales departments looking to unlock new dimensions of sales productivity — and turn their teams into high performers — Big Sister AI’s story is well worth watching.
Press about the event
- Scroll Media: Ukrainian SalesTech Startup Big Sister AI Receives $100,000 at Texas AI Challenge
- Austin Business Journal: Big Sister AI wins Texas AI Challenge in Austin from Brent Wistrom
- Austin Business Review
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