How the AI startup Pointai attracted investments from Silicon Valley

Find out how a guy from Uzbekistan and a girl from Kazakhstan created a startup that became the top AI assistant for customer support.

Benazir Toleubekova, based in Almaty, co-founder of Pointai, Instagram

How it all started

I have experience working with tech giants like Tencent, Taobao, and Momenta. Azamat Khamidov, co-founder of Pointai and founder of TranslateMe, a service with over 150,000 active users.

We met during the AlchemistX accelerator program in Palo Alto. Our diverse backgrounds complemented each other naturally, creating a powerful synergy for product development. By combining our efforts, we were able to quickly test hypotheses and implement effective solutions.

After making our first sales and receiving valuable feedback from clients, we built a platform for automating customer support. It enables companies to develop their own first-line AI assistant that not only responds to user inquiries but also automatically resolves requests using intelligent algorithms.

Startup Launch

Pointai is a platform for automating customer support that allows companies to create their own first-line AI assistant.

But the assistant’s capabilities go far beyond standard support. It not only handles inquiries quickly but also automatically resolves requests using intelligent algorithms, gathers key data, and passes it on to the team — helping them analyze complex cases more efficiently and accurately. This reduces the workload on employees, optimizes their time, and allows them to focus on strategic tasks such as improving customer experience and enhancing service quality.

Our product is more than just an AI agent — it is a full-fledged digital assistant that works 24/7 without breaks, analyzes data to identify communication gaps, and helps strengthen relationships with customers.

Automation at Pointai goes beyond traditional support. Companies can define the specific role their AI assistant plays in their business. The AI can not only streamline processes like returns or order status updates, but also guide users through the marketing funnel — helping them better understand the product and make informed purchase decisions.

On our website, anyone can try out the capabilities of our AI assistant, Pam Solve. She does not  just answer questions — she introduces users to Pointai and demonstrates how automation can boost support efficiency and enhance the customer experience.

We firmly believe that people remain the key element in creating exceptional customer service. It is the human touch that makes interactions with a brand flexible, natural, and comfortable. Our goal is to help businesses build a smooth, seamless service where technology enhances and supports processes — not replaces human involvement.

Automation is not just about cutting costs or speeding up workflows. It is about delivering a new level of customer experience — one that builds trust, loyalty, and drives business growth.

Target audience

Service process optimization is essential for many companies where websites, mobile apps, and browser-based platforms serve as key touchpoints with users and primary conversion channels.

Automation is especially valuable in organizations where support teams are overwhelmed with routine tasks that can be delegated to AI without compromising service quality. In such cases, an AI assistant becomes a full-fledged team member — handling a large volume of requests and efficiently resolving common inquiries in real time.

This challenge is especially pressing for startups, which often struggle to maintain a 24/7 support team. In such cases, an AI assistant offers a flexible and cost-effective solution — providing users with instant, around-the-clock responses without the need to expand headcount.

Our clients include e-commerce brands, mobile apps, B2B SaaS products, delivery services, and many others.

In each of these businesses, the AI assistant does not replace human interaction — it enhances it. It lightens the workload of support agents while maintaining consistent service quality, even as demand increases.

As a result, companies gain scalable support that reduces costs, speeds up response times, and significantly improves the customer experience.

One of our clients faced major challenges in customer support: the average response time reached 25 minutes, CSAT was at 75%, and support costs exceeded $232,000.

After implementing Pointai, the results changed dramatically:

— CSAT increased by nearly 25%, significantly boosting customer satisfaction

— Average response time dropped from 25 minutes to 2.1 seconds — over 714 times faster

— Support cost savings exceeded $150 000, allowing the company to reallocate resources toward growth and scaling.

These improvements not only transformed customer support metrics but also strengthened customer trust and loyalty, reduced the workload on support agents, and gave the company a competitive edge through fast, high-quality service.

Incubation programs

In 2022, Pointai was selected to participate in the Techstars Startup Weekend acceleration program, receiving support to develop its idea and bring it to market.

The startup also joined the second cohort of the Plug and Play Uzbekistan accelerator and secured investment from the Plug and Play Tech Center headquarters in Silicon Valley — a strong validation of its global potential.

In March 2024, Pointai received investment from DOMINO Ventures, a venture fund focused on supporting promising tech startups.

Additionally, the startup attracted funding from AloqaVentures, which backed Pointai’s growth in Central Asia and helped strengthen its position in the regional market.

Later in 2024, Pointai became one of the participants in the AlchemistX Silicon Valley Residency, a program that connects high-potential startups with top-tier experts and investors in the Valley. During the accelerator, participating startups collectively raised $14 million in funding and gained access to mentorship and essential tech resources.

Challenges

Like any startup, our journey was not easy. We faced technical challenges integrating AI algorithms, overcame market skepticism, and had to prove that automating customer support does not replace human interaction — it enhances it.

One of our biggest hurdles was training the system not just to recognize user queries, but to process them with high accuracy, understanding the context and nuances behind each request.

To those just starting out in the startup world, our message is: do not be afraid of mistakes. Seek feedback, experiment, and believe in your idea. Every challenge is not a barrier, but a growth point — something that makes both you and your product stronger.

Achievements

In November 2024, we launched our AI-powered support assistant Pam on ProductHunt, introducing one of the most advanced customer support tools to the public.

Goals

Our near-future plans are ambitious and focused on the active growth of Pointai. By the end of the year, we aim to significantly expand the platform’s functionality by implementing new algorithms for even more accurate request processing.

We are also working on integrations with leading CRM systems, which will make it even easier and more effective for companies to use our product.

In addition, we are preparing to scale: entering new markets, attracting strategic partners, and expanding the Pointai ecosystem.

Our goal is to make the platform an essential tool for businesses that want not just to automate support, but to elevate their customer service — delivering high-quality assistance 24/7.