Clay

TL;DR. Clay is a New York go-to-market (GTM) automation platform founded in 2017. It combines prospect discovery, multi-provider data enrichment, AI web research, and campaign execution in workflows that require no programming. Clay reports more than 17,000 customers. It suits revenue operations (RevOps), sales operations, and GTM engineering teams that build custom, research-heavy prospecting and routing workflows.

At a Glance

Clay’s August 2025 Series C valued the company at $3.1 billion. That round marked the growth of a product that began as a programmable spreadsheet into a go-to-market platform.

Clay serves go-to-market (GTM) teams, which plan and execute customer acquisition and revenue operations. Its platform combines company and contact-data enrichment, AI-assisted research, and automated workflows for prospecting, lead routing, and personalized outreach. Clay began in Brooklyn in 2017 to make programming accessible through a no-code spreadsheet. Users could connect information and automate work without writing code.

First Round lists Kareem Amin, Nicolae Rusan, and Varun Anand as founders, and says Anand joined in 2021. CapitalG identifies Amin as founder and Anand as joining as co-founder in 2021. The company is headquartered in New York. Clay’s employee count was not stated in the company and financing sources cited here.

Clay lists $392 million in total funding after its September 2026 Series D. CapitalG led its $100 million Series C in 2025. Sequoia Capital, Meritech Capital, First Round Capital, BoxGroup, Boldstart Ventures, and Sapphire Ventures also participated. These figures describe company financing, not the separate employee tender offer reported earlier in 2025.

Key links: Website, documentation, blog, and public agent-plugins GitHub repository.

Who's Behind It

Clay's last clearly reported team size was 50 people in June 2024, up from 10. Sequoia also reported 10x year-over-year company growth in each of the prior two years.

Clay's careers page lists “negative maintenance” and “non-attached action” as operating principles. It emphasizes problem-solving, adaptability, and teamwork. It also says it hires people from varied professional backgrounds and supports creative side projects through its Play Pot program.

The sources reviewed did not establish a notable board or advisor roster, or a 2025 senior executive hire. Clay's 50-person figure is a dated disclosure, not a current headcount. Its public leadership information centers on Amin and Anand; the available sources do not provide a fuller current executive roster.

Who It's Built For

Clay primarily serves revenue teams that need to build and automate data-heavy go-to-market workflows, from lean startups to large enterprises. Its customer stories show that RevOps, sales operations, marketing operations, growth teams, and GTM engineers are its clearest users.

The company reports more than 17,000 customers across startups and enterprises. Clay does not identify one company-size sweet spot. Rootly, an incident-management startup selling to enterprises, used Clay for prospect research, lead scoring, signal-based outreach, and personalized outbound. At larger companies, OpenAI uses it for inbound lead enrichment, account research, targeting, and seller workflows inside Salesforce. Figma’s marketing operations team uses Clay to maintain CRM data and connect product signals with sales and advertising actions.

Teams use Clay for contact enrichment, lead scoring, routing, and outbound lists. They also monitor buying signals and update CRM records. The tool’s strongest documented vertical presence is B2B technology, including AI, design software, cybersecurity, HR technology, and fintech. These are examples from published customer stories, not a verified ranking of adoption by industry.

The platform also supports adjacent functions. OpenAI reports emerging use by data science, marketing operations, and recruiting teams. Clay presents its workflows as usable globally, but its public materials do not establish a primary geographic market. A Coverflex case spans Portugal, Spain, and Italy, illustrating one European deployment.

How It Makes Money

Clay combines self-serve subscriptions with separate usage meters for platform work and data enrichment. Its current pricing page lists free access, Launch at $167 per month, and Growth at $446 per month. Launch includes 15,000 monthly Actions and 3,000 monthly Data Credits. Growth includes 40,000 Actions and 6,000 Data Credits. These rates are shown as monthly prices; confirm billing terms directly because the page can change.

The free tier includes 500 Actions and 100 Data Credits monthly. Actions measure workflow operations, while Data Credits buy third-party enrichment data. Enterprise pricing is custom and requires an annual commitment. Clay’s current public offer therefore mixes a free entry point, paid recurring plans, and metered capacity rather than seat-based pricing.

Clay reported crossing $100 million in annual recurring revenue in December 2025, up from $1 million two years earlier. This is company-reported ARR, not an independently audited revenue figure. In August 2025, TechCrunch reported a $100 million Series C at a $3.1 billion valuation. Clay’s CEO then expected $100 million in revenue by year-end, a forecast later followed by the company’s ARR milestone. Clay does not publish a total addressable market figure in the pricing or ARR materials reviewed.

Traction and Market Position

Clay raised $115 million in September 2026 at a $7.1 billion valuation. This indicates strong investor demand. Clay reports fourfold revenue growth in 2025 and more than 17,000 customers, including Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, and Stripe. The company also reported reaching $100 million in annual recurring revenue in December 2025. These are company-reported metrics, not audited results.

Clay’s strongest position is as a flexible research, data-enrichment, and workflow layer for revenue teams. Its waterfall enrichment checks multiple providers for data, while AI can research accounts and personalize workflows. Clay cited more than 400 GTM engineering job postings in spring 2025. It also supports a community of Clay clubs. Its emerging moat combines provider integrations, adaptable workflows, and an operator ecosystem. However, Clay says it owns no native data, so its coverage and economics depend partly on outside providers.

Apollo is the closer fit for teams seeking contact data and built-in multichannel sequencing in one system. ZoomInfo competes through its large verified B2B database, intent signals, and enterprise GTM suite. Clay is more compelling when teams need to combine multiple sources and customize research-heavy workflows. That flexibility requires setup and credit monitoring. Clay describes operations-led enterprise setup and credit charges for provider calls. It also integrates with, rather than replaces, CRMs and sending tools.

Recommendation: Clay merits a shortlist for RevOps teams, growing startups, and outbound agencies with complex targeting needs. It can free people from repetitive research for selling and higher-value campaign design. Choose Apollo for a simpler all-in-one sales workflow, or ZoomInfo when a bundled data-and-intent platform is the priority. Clay’s growth and expansion outlook look strong, but valuation expectations, third-party data dependence, and operational complexity are material risks.

Products & Features

Clay brings prospect discovery, multi-provider enrichment, AI research, and campaign execution into one GTM workflow platform. Its core workflow combines ordered data-provider waterfalls with Claygent, which researches the web for custom prospect and account details.

The pricing page lists 150+ enrichment providers, while Clay describes its broader marketplace as 200+ data and AI vendors. Claygent creates structured research outputs for tasks such as lead scoring, account research, and personalized outreach. Sculptor, announced on September 17, 2025, builds workflows and analyzes table data from natural-language instructions. Claygent Builder supports prompt testing, versioning, and deployment across workflows.

Audiences combines CRM and data-warehouse records with signals and enrichments, then keeps filtered audiences updated as underlying data changes. Clay Sequencer adds native cold-email campaigns, with lead sourcing, inbox and domain setup, AI-written copy, and reply routing. It can refresh lead data as records qualify for campaigns.

Native integrations include Salesforce, HubSpot, Snowflake, Outreach, and other sales and data tools. Clay’s HTTP API integration connects custom endpoints using GET, POST, PUT, or DELETE requests. The pricing page shows Free, Launch, and Growth tiers. Free includes 500 Actions and 100 Data Credits monthly. Clay lists Launch at $167 monthly and Growth at $446 monthly.

Lower starting-price callouts also appear. Confirm current billing options on Clay’s pricing page.

Classification

Clay belongs in AI Sales. It combines B2B prospecting, data enrichment, account research, intent-based lead scoring, and personalized outbound. Its marketplace includes 200+ data and AI vendors; Clay’s FAQ names LinkedIn, HubSpot, and Salesforce as integrations.

Primary Category: AI Sales Categories: AI Sales, AI Marketing Tags: ai agents, b2b prospecting, data enrichment, gtm automation, account research, intent signals, lead scoring, crm enrichment

Security & Compliance

Clay's clearest independently audited control is SOC 2 Type II: it announced completing the audit on September 9, 2024. Its current documentation also lists ISO 27001 compliance, GDPR, and CCPA. Clay makes its SOC 2 report and security materials available through its Trust Center.

Clay says it processes customer data in the United States and does not currently offer other processing locations. Its Audiences security documentation describes encryption at rest and TLS 1.2/1.3 in transit. Clay acts as a processor for customer data under its DPA, which includes EU Standard Contractual Clauses for international transfers. The DPA requires Clay to notify customers without undue delay after discovering a personal-data breach.

Enterprise customers can use single sign-on. Workspace roles include Admin, Editor, and Viewer, but access is generally workspace-wide rather than scoped to individual audiences. Clay says deleting a workspace removes its data after 30 days. Its enterprise SOC 2 announcement also describes a Headless CRM mode that stores no data in Clay.

For AI features, Clay says contractual agreements prohibit its AI providers from training on customer data. Users can also supply their own API keys for supported providers. The reviewed Privacy Policy says it was updated September 11, 2020. Buyers should check Clay's DPA and newer security documents for current details. Clay's public materials do not specify an at-rest encryption algorithm.

How Users Rate It

Enrichment flexibility drives positive feedback, while setup complexity and credit oversight remain the clearest adoption barriers. The G2 review page listed Clay at 4.7/5. Ratings and review counts can change.

Reviewers praise combining data enrichment, prospecting, and automation in customizable workflows. They also report less manual list building, better email matching, and Claygent’s usefulness for prospect research and pre-call preparation. The recurring complaint is onboarding: G2’s pros-and-cons page tagged steep learning curve 16 times. Review excerpts also warn that credits can run down quickly without monitoring. These themes suggest the tool rewards dedicated workflow ownership more than casual use.

Clay reports more than 17,000 customers. In a Clay-published customer story, Intercom reports sourcing 4,000+ accounts and enriching 21,000 contacts in one month. Intercom GTM Ops director Alexander DeMoulin says transparent account signals helped sales trust enriched lists. These are vendor-published adoption and case-study figures, not independently audited metrics.

Chiri Analysis

Chiri Score: 82/100

Verdict

Best for:

• RevOps and sales operations teams that own and maintain GTM workflows

• GTM engineers building custom enrichment, scoring, and routing pipelines

• Scaling B2B startups running signal-based, personalized outbound

• Outbound agencies with complex targeting needs

• Marketing operations teams cleaning and activating CRM data

Not for:

• Teams without a dedicated workflow owner or technical operator

• Buyers seeking a simple all-in-one sales tool with native data and sequencing

• Organizations requiring non-US data processing locations

• Teams needing fixed, predictable spend without credit monitoring

• Companies wanting a proprietary first-party B2B database

Head-to-head

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Clay?

Clay is a GTM workflow platform for revenue teams. It combines prospect discovery, data enrichment, AI research, and campaign execution. It began in 2017 as a no-code programmable spreadsheet in Brooklyn.

Is Clay SOC 2 compliant?

Yes. Clay announced completing its SOC 2 Type II audit on September 9, 2024. Customers can request the report through Clay's Trust Center. Clay's security documentation also lists ISO 27001, GDPR, and CCPA compliance.

How much does Clay cost?

Clay has a Free tier with 500 Actions and 100 Data Credits per month. Actions meter workflow operations. Data Credits buy third-party enrichment data. Paid self-serve tiers and custom enterprise plans also exist. Buyers should confirm current paid-tier prices on Clay's pricing page.

Who are Clay's competitors?

Clay's main competitors are Apollo and ZoomInfo. Apollo bundles contact data with built-in multichannel sequencing. ZoomInfo sells a large B2B database, intent signals, and an enterprise GTM suite. Clay differentiates through multi-source enrichment and customizable AI research workflows.

Is Clay good for enterprise teams?

Yes, for enterprises with dedicated operations staff. OpenAI and Figma use Clay for enrichment, account research, and CRM workflows. Enterprise setup is operations-led. Clay processes customer data only in the United States, which limits data-residency options.

Does Clay integrate with Salesforce and HubSpot?

Yes. Clay's FAQ lists HubSpot and Salesforce as CRM integrations. Clay also connects to Snowflake, Outreach, and custom endpoints through an HTTP API. It complements CRMs and sequencers rather than replacing them.

What is Claygent?

Claygent is Clay's AI research agent. It searches the web and returns structured outputs. Teams use it for lead scoring, account research, and personalized outreach. Claygent Builder supports prompt testing and deployment across workflows.

How fast is Clay growing?

Clay reported $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) in December 2025. It reported fourfold revenue growth in 2025 and more than 17,000 customers. It raised a $115 million Series D at a $7.1 billion valuation in September 2026.

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Reviewed by Chiri Atlas Research Desk (AI Tooling Analyst) on 2026-10-03.