Otter.ai raises $320 million from General Catalyst’s growth fund for its meeting tool

Otter.ai has raised $320 million from General Catalyst’s Customer Value Fund, a pool that backs startups without taking equity and gets paid back from marketing returns. For a company built around meeting notes, that is a chunky vote of confidence — and a sign that the next phase is less about getting people to try Otter, more about keeping it embedded in work.

The startup says the money will go into enterprise growth, go-to-market work, international expansion, and product development. It also says its product has now been used by 40 million people, up from 25 million last year. Otter didn’t share fresh numbers on monthly active users or churn, which leaves the real question hanging: are those users sticking around, or just passing through?

On the business side, Otter said it crossed $100 million in annual recurring revenue last year and is approaching new milestones now, though it wouldn’t say what they are. PitchBook data cited by TechCrunch says the company has raised $50 million in total funding before this round, with its last raise in 2021.

The market is crowded enough to make any growth story harder than it sounds. Otter is up against well-funded rivals like Fireflies.ai, Granola, and Read AI, plus newer entrants including Calendly, Wispr, and Superhuman after its Fathom acquisition. Others in the field include Circleback, Talat, and Quill. Most of them are chasing the same prize: connections into enterprise systems so meeting data can trigger actual work.

Otter has been moving that way too. It has added a meeting assistant, search across apps, and integrations with other AI tools. Its new CMO, Alex Gay, says the real opportunity is turning transcripts into an actionable roadmap for people stuck in back-to-back meetings. The company is now testing pre-briefs before meetings, more context during them, and a Live Assist feature that lets users ask the AI questions on the fly.