Table of Contents
Ciro: AI-Powered Sales Prospecting Platform Research Report
Ciro is a revolutionary AI-powered sales intelligence platform that automates the traditionally manual and time-intensive process of building prospect lists. The platform leverages artificial intelligence to scan over 500 million professional profiles, automatically learns a company’s Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), and delivers qualified leads with verified contact information in minutes rather than hours. Founded by Y Combinator alumni and backed by prominent venture capital firms, Ciro represents a significant advancement in sales automation technology, enabling sales teams to focus on customer engagement rather than data collection.Description Rewrite
Ciro is an AI-driven sales prospecting platform that transforms how sales teams identify and engage potential customers. The platform’s flagship product, Ciro Autopilot, automatically builds, scores, and enriches prospect lists in under five minutes by analyzing over 500 million professional profiles. The system learns a company’s Ideal Customer Profile through website analysis, tests multiple search strategies across its extensive database, and provides verified email addresses and mobile numbers from over 15 data sources. Ciro seamlessly integrates with popular CRM systems like HubSpot and Salesforce, or exports data to CSV format with one-click functionality. This comprehensive automation eliminates the manual research that typically consumes 30-40% of sales teams’ time, allowing them to focus on actual selling activities.Deep Service Report
Ciro addresses a critical pain point in B2B sales: the excessive time spent on manual prospect research and list building. Traditional prospecting methods require sales representatives to manually search LinkedIn profiles, verify contact information across multiple databases, and update spreadsheets – a process that can consume up to 40% of their working hours.The platform’s core innovation lies in its AI Autopilot feature, which automates the entire prospecting workflow. When a user initiates a search, the system first scans the company’s website to understand their Ideal Customer Profile, extracting patterns in customer traits such as roles, industries, and company characteristics. This automated ICP learning eliminates the need for manual data entry or trial-and-error search criteria.
Ciro then employs advanced AI algorithms to test dozens of search strategies across its database of over 500 million professional profiles. The platform doesn’t limit itself to basic criteria like job titles or company names but conducts comprehensive analysis to identify prospects that align with the learned ICP. Each potential lead is scored and ranked based on fit probability, ensuring users receive the highest-quality prospects first.
The contact enrichment process sets Ciro apart from traditional lead generation tools. The platform aggregates verified contact information from over 15 premium data sources through a “waterfall” approach, significantly improving data accuracy and completeness. This multi-source verification process ensures users receive reliable email addresses and mobile phone numbers for their prospects.
Integration capabilities represent another key strength of the platform. Ciro offers seamless connectivity with major CRM systems including HubSpot, Salesforce, and other popular sales tools. Users can push qualified prospects directly into their existing workflows with a single click, maintaining data consistency and reducing manual data entry errors.
The platform specifically targets LinkedIn Sales Navigator users, recognizing LinkedIn as the premier platform for B2B prospecting despite its lack of automation tools. Ciro’s browser extension works seamlessly with LinkedIn, enabling users to maintain their familiar prospecting environment while benefiting from AI-powered automation.
Country
United States (specifically San Francisco, California)Pros & Cons
Pros
- Time Efficiency: Reduces prospecting time from hours to minutes, with users reporting 90%+ time savings in list building activities.
- AI-Powered Accuracy: Advanced machine learning algorithms improve prospect quality by automatically learning and adapting to company ICPs.
- Comprehensive Data Coverage: Access to over 500 million professional profiles with verified contact information from 15+ premium sources.
- Seamless Integration: One-click synchronization with major CRM platforms including HubSpot, Salesforce, and CSV export capabilities.
- Real-Time Automation: Automated profile scanning and qualification eliminates manual research while maintaining high accuracy standards.
- User-Friendly Interface: Intuitive design that requires minimal training while delivering powerful functionality.
- Y Combinator Backing: Strong venture capital support and validation from a prestigious accelerator program.
Cons
- Credit-Based Limitations: Pricing model relies on credit consumption, which may become expensive for high-volume users.
- LinkedIn Dependency: Primary functionality focused on LinkedIn Sales Navigator, limiting effectiveness for non-LinkedIn prospecting.
- Learning Curve: Advanced features may require time investment to fully optimize for specific use cases.
- Data Source Reliance: Platform effectiveness depends on third-party data providers, which may impact data freshness and accuracy.
- Limited Customization: Some users may require more granular control over search parameters and scoring algorithms.
Pricing
Free Plan: \$0/month
- 300 credits (one-time allocation)
- Basic prospecting features
- Limited to essential functionality
Starter Plan: \$39/month (billed annually) or \$49/month (billed monthly)
- 1,000 credits per month
- 12,000 credits annually for annual subscribers
- Full access to core platform features
- CRM integrations included
Teams Plan: Custom pricing
- 5,000+ credits per month
- Advanced team collaboration features
- Priority support
- Custom integration options
All plans include access to the core AI Autopilot functionality, contact enrichment from multiple sources, and basic CRM integrations. The credit system operates on a per-contact basis, with one credit typically equaling one enriched contact profile with verified email and phone number.
Competitor Comparison
| Platform | Starting Price | Database Size | Key Features | Integration Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ciro | \$39/month | 500M+ profiles | AI Autopilot, ICP learning, LinkedIn automation | CRM-native with one-click sync |
| Apollo.io | \$49/month | 275M+ contacts | All-in-one sales platform, email sequences | Comprehensive sales stack |
| LeadIQ | \$39/month | 170M+ profiles | Chrome extension, email finding | Salesforce/Outreach focused |
| ZoomInfo | \$14,995/year | 300M+ contacts | Enterprise-grade intelligence, intent data | Enterprise CRM systems |
| Seamless.AI | \$147/month | 400M+ contacts | Real-time search engine, Chrome extension | Basic CRM integrations |
Team Members
- Richard Lee – Co-Founder and CEO
- Ross Geiger – Co-Founder and President
- David Winer – Co-Founder and CTO
Team Members About (Backgrounds)
- Richard Lee serves as co-founder and CEO of Ciro, bringing extensive experience in operations and growth strategy to the company. He graduated from Brown University in 2013 with a degree in Applied Mathematics and Economics. Prior to founding Ciro, Richard held senior leadership positions at Porch Group, including Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Revenue \& Growth. He began his career at Bain \& Company as an Associate Consultant, working on strategic projects across various sectors. Richard’s entrepreneurial journey with Ciro originated from a weekend project that significantly improved sales performance for a company, leading him to identify the market need for better CRM solutions specifically designed for small businesses.
- Ross Geiger co-founded Ciro and serves as President, bringing deep expertise in sales operations and team leadership. He holds a degree in Economics \& East Asian Studies with Honors from Brown University and studied Mandarin at Princeton University during a study abroad program. Ross has extensive experience in sales leadership, having served as Vice President of Sales at YAPI, a dental practice management software company backed by M33 Growth. His career includes roles as Director of GTM \& Revenue Operations and Associate at M33 Growth, a growth equity and venture capital firm. Earlier experience includes management positions at Catalant Technologies and senior analyst work at Altman Solon, a TMT strategy consulting firm. Ross describes himself as an optimist with passion for European football and vertical SaaS companies.
- David Winer co-founded Ciro and serves as Chief Technology Officer, leading the platform’s technical development and AI capabilities. He has native or bilingual proficiency in English and limited working proficiency in Spanish. David’s technical leadership focuses on building the AI-powered prospecting algorithms and maintaining the platform’s integration capabilities with major CRM systems. His background encompasses software development and technical architecture, though specific educational details were not available in the research.
Team Members SNS Links
Richard Lee:
- LinkedIn: Available through Clay.earth profile aggregation
- Professional networking primarily through business contexts
Ross Geiger:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rossgeiger1
- Professional blog: Salescraft newsletter (https://salescraft.beehiiv.com/subscribe)
- Clay.earth profile: https://clay.earth/profile/ross-geiger-dec17acb
David Winer:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-winer
- Professional presence primarily through Ciro corporate channels
All founders maintain active professional presence on LinkedIn and participate in Y Combinator alumni networks. They regularly engage in product updates, company announcements, and industry discussions through their professional social media channels, with particular activity around product launches and company milestones.