About Apprente
Apprente is a company based in Palo Alto (United States) founded in 2017 was acquired by IBM in October 2021. Apprente has raised $4.75 million across 2 funding rounds from investors including IBM, McDonald's and AME Cloud Ventures. Apprente operates in a competitive market with competitors including OpenAI, Gupshup, Anthropic, LeadDesk and Ada, among others.
- Headquarter Palo Alto, United States
- SectorsTechnologyConsumer
- Email••••••••
- Website apprente.com
- Social LinkedIn X
- Acquired by IBM (Oct 2021)
Funding Insights of Apprente
Apprente has successfully raised a total of $4.75M across 2 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Seed round of $4.75 million completed in January 2018. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $4.75M
- Total Rounds 2
- Last Round Seed — $4.75M
- First Round $4.74M
(Sep 2017)
- Investors Count 5
All 2 funding rounds of Apprente with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2018 | $4.75M | Seed | – | AME Cloud Ventures, Morado Ventures | – |
| Sep 2017 | $4.74M | Debt – Conventional | – | – | – |
7 investors in total: 7 institutional.
Investors in Apprente
Apprente has secured backing from 7 investors, including venture fund and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include IBM, McDonald's and AME Cloud Ventures.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
AME Cloud Ventures is focused on investing in data-driven technology companies. | – | amecloudventures.com | Palo Alto, United States | |
US based VC firm investing in seed stage | – | moradoventures.com | San Francisco, United States | |
Seed & early stage tech-focused VC firm investing primarily in the US | – | pathbreakervc.com | San Francisco, United States | |
StageOne Ventures is focused on seed-stage investments in tech startups. | – | stageonevc.com | Herzliya Pituach, Israel | |
Venture capital firm specializing in early-stage tech investments and founder support. | 1965 | greylock.com | - | |
Fast food chain known for burgers and fries globally. | 1940 | mcdonalds.com | Oak Brook, United States | |
Hybrid cloud and DevOps automation are delivered to enterprises. | 1911 | ibm.com | United States |
Investor details for Apprente
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
- Investor portfolios
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Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
People of Apprente
78 people are tracked at Apprente (57 in leadership, 14 in board & advisors, 7 in team).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Ian Borden | EVP, CFO | Leadership |
Len Jillard | SVP, Chief People Officer - International Markets | Leadership |
Christa Small | VP, USA Operations | Leadership |
Gino Potesta | VP, Franchise Relations Officer, McDonald's USA | Leadership |
Julie Wenger | Senior Director of Brand & Marketing Content, USA | Leadership |
Michelle Graham-Clare | SVP, Chief Marketing Officer - UK & Ireland | Leadership |
Morgan Flatley | Global Chief Marketing Officer | Leadership |
Linda VanGosen | VP, Brand & Menu Strategy | Leadership |
Deborah Quig | Director of Global Marketing | Leadership |
Debby Culbertson | Director of Global Brand Strategy | Leadership |
Amy Kovalan | VP, Chief Compliance Officer | Leadership |
Reggie Miller | VP, Global Chief Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Officer | Leadership |
Christiaan Pilkington | Vice President, Operations | Leadership |
Shammara Howell | VP, Chief Field People Officer - McDonald’s USA | Leadership |
Laura Henderson | VP, Supply Chain, McDonald’s UK & Ireland | Leadership |
Anja Carroll | VP, US Field Marketing | Leadership |
Antoni Martinez | CEO, Australia | Leadership |
Tom Dillon | SVP, CFO - McDonald’s USA | Leadership |
Tabassum Zalotrawala | Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer, McDonald's USA | Leadership |
Ben Fox | Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, McDonald’s UK & Ireland | Leadership |
58 more people are available in the full profile.
Complete people profiles for Apprente
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
- Full employee list
- Team structure
- Board tenure
- Professional contacts
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of Apprente
6 dated milestones of Apprente across 4 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Apprente is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $4.7M.
- Funding Latest funding round, Seed, of $4.8M.
- Exit Acquired by McDonald's.
- Exit Acquired by IBM.
- Exit Acquired by IBM.
Competitors of Apprente
Apprente operates in a dynamic and competitive business environment, facing competition from various established players and emerging companies in the market. The competitive landscape includes prominent companies such as OpenAI, Gupshup, Anthropic, LeadDesk and Ada, among others.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| openai.com | 2015 | San Francisco, United States | $57.91B | 280 | OpenAI is engaged in developing advanced artificial intelligence technologies. | |
| gupshup.io | 2004 | San Francisco, United States | $544.34M | 935 | Tools for customer engagement across multiple channels are provided. | |
| anthropic.com | 2021 | San Francisco, United States | $26.76B | 271 | AI models and chatbots are offered for industry applications. | |
| leaddesk.com | 2010 | Helsinki, Finland | $6.22M | 3 | Outbound calling software is offered by LeadDesk for sales automation. | |
| ada.cx | 2016 | Toronto, Canada | $190.17M | – | AI chatbots for customer experience automation are provided. | |
| avaamo.ai | 2014 | Los Altos, United States | $22.57M | 118 | Conversational AI platform for enterprises is provided by Avaamo. | |
| olakrutrim.com | 2023 | Bengaluru, India | $51.1M | 664 | AI tools and infrastructure are developed for generative applications. |
Detailed competitors of Apprente
The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.
- Full competitor set
- Operating metrics
- Benchmarks
- Competitive positioning
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Latest news on Apprente
Complete news archive for Apprente
Full article history, source details, and older brand coverage require an active premium plan.
- Full article archive
- Source and publication date
- Older coverage
- Brand-specific news history
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Similar companies to Apprente
10 companies that operate in the same segment as Apprente (AI Core Platforms & Infrastructure), ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
OpenAI is engaged in developing advanced artificial intelligence technologies. | 2015 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 167.95 B | – | – | |
AI models and chatbots are offered for industry applications. | 2021 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 66.81 B | – | – | |
Analytics and digital solutions for healthcare and banking are provided. | 1999 | New York, New York, United States | USD 10 M | USD 2.09 B | 59,500 | |
AI-powered graphical processing units and SoCs | 1993 | Santa Clara, California, United States | USD 5 M | USD 130.5 B | 36,000 | |
A platform for the AI community to collaborate and build. | 2016 | Paris, France | USD 399.91 M | – | – | |
Digital marketing, data analytics, and IT services are provided globally. | 1981 | Bengaluru, Karnataka, India | – | USD 19.08 B | 323,580 | |
Machine learning model development and management solutions are provided. | 2017 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 250 M | – | 150 | |
Provider of website, web & mobile application development, BI, and digital marketing services | 2007 | Jaipur, Rajasthan, India | USD 570.12 M | USD 102.68 M | 461 | |
AI-based robotic arms are developed for industrial automation tasks. | 2010 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 123.02 M | – | – | |
Enterprise observability solutions are delivered via cloud and AI platforms. | 2008 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 196.44 M | – | – |
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Frequently Asked Questions about Apprente
Apprente was founded in 2017.
Apprente is headquartered in Palo Alto, United States. It is registered at Palo Alto, California, United States.
Apprente is a funded company, having raised a total of $4.75M across 2 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Debt – Conventional of $4.74M, raised on Sep 2017.
Founded in 2017 and based in Palo Alto, United States, Apprente operates in the artificial intelligence sector, with a focus on artificial general intelligence for customer service automation. Incremental learning systems are created to enable AI adaptation without skill loss, targeting quick-service restaurants. Ordering processes are automated across drive-thru stations, kiosks, and mobile platforms to streamline operations.
Apprente has 7 investors. Key investors include IBM, McDonald's, AME Cloud Ventures, Morado Ventures, and Pathbreaker Ventures.
Yes. Apprente was acquired by IBM in October 2021.

