AI is shaking up just about every industry, and customer research is no exception. Two startups at the heart of this change are GetWhy and Listen Labs. On the surface, they both promise to speed up the painful process of running customer interviews and turning them into insights. But once you dig a little deeper, their approaches—and their risks—look very different.
The Origins
Listen Labs is a fresh face, founded in 2023 in the U.S. They came out of the gate focusing on AI-powered interviewing at scale.
GetWhy, meanwhile, has a longer journey. Originally launched in Denmark back in 2011 as UserTribe, it rebranded and fully embraced its AI-first direction in January 2024. That was the real “new beginning” for the company.
How They Work
Here’s where the difference really shows:
- GetWhy runs the entire research flow. Businesses create a study on the platform, participants are recruited through GetWhy’s network, and those participants record video responses to pre-set questions. Then Bloom, their AI engine, analyzes the recordings—pulling out quotes, themes, and even highlight reels—in just 25 minutes.
- Listen Labs skips the pre-recorded format and instead uses AI interviewers. These digital moderators hold live conversations with participants, asking questions, probing for clarity, and adapting on the fly. Afterward, insights are compiled automatically.
So while both speed up research, the key difference is in who’s doing the asking:
- With GetWhy, humans record answers on their own.
- With Listen Labs, the AI is in the driver’s seat, running the actual interviews.
Customers That Trust Them
The companies also serve different corners of the market:
- Listen Labs: Microsoft, Canva, Sony, Disney, Netflix. Strong ties to tech and entertainment.
- GetWhy: Nestlé, McDonald’s, Nike, L’Oréal, Coca-Cola, Unilever. Heavy hitters in consumer goods and retail.
Funding in 2024–2025
Money talks, and here’s how it looks:
- Listen Labs has raised about $27 million (seed + Series A), led by Sequoia Capital.
- GetWhy has raised much more:
- June 2024: €31.7M (~$34.5M) Series A, led by PeakSpan Capital
- Feb 2025: $8.45M debt financing from CIBC Innovation Banking
- July 2025: €17M extension, again led by PeakSpan with Arbejdernes Landsbank joining
- Rough total: $64.5 million.
Clearly, GetWhy has the larger war chest.
The Cost Question
Here’s where things get tricky. Running large AI models is expensive—and many AI startups (just look at vibe coding platforms) have miscalculated these costs, burning cash at unsustainable rates.
- Listen Labs is more exposed here. Because they rely on advanced LLMs to run live interviews, every session comes with a non-trivial AI cost. Unless they build their own models—which is very expensive—or optimize usage aggressively, their unit economics could be fragile.
- GetWhy, by contrast, mostly applies AI after interviews are collected. Extracting themes and highlights can be handled with cheaper or fine-tuned models, making their costs more predictable and less risky.
This difference means that while both are innovating, Listen Labs is carrying the heavier financial risk if AI costs don’t fall fast enough.
Who Has the Edge—GetWhy or Listen Labs?
Both companies are tackling the same problem from different sides, and both are landing impressive customers. GetWhy seems better positioned with its funding and global consumer brands, while Listen Labs has strong ties to U.S. tech giants.
Still, the cost structure matters. GetWhy’s model looks steadier, while Listen Labs is betting that advanced LLMs will remain affordable. That’s a big gamble—especially when the giants like ChatGPT might eventually fold customer research tools into their platforms, becoming powerful competitors overnight.
So who wins? If costs come down quickly, Listen Labs’ approach could shine. But if they don’t, GetWhy looks like the safer bet.