About Barpel

Transforming e-commerce customer support with AI voice technology

Our Mission

We believe every online store deserves world-class customer support, regardless of size or budget.

Barpel was founded on a simple observation: e-commerce merchants spend too much time and money on customer support that could be handled by AI. We are building the platform that lets any store offer instant, intelligent, 24/7 phone support without hiring a call center.

Our Story

Barpel started in 2024 when our founders, Alex and Sarah, saw the same problem from two different angles. Alex had spent years helping Shopify merchants grow, and kept hearing the same complaint: customer support was their biggest bottleneck. Sarah had been building conversational AI at Google and knew the technology was finally ready to handle real business conversations.

They joined forces with a clear goal: build an AI voice assistant so good that customers cannot tell the difference, and so simple that any merchant can set it up in minutes. Within months, they had a prototype handling real calls for a handful of Shopify stores. The results were immediate. Resolution rates climbed, support costs dropped, and customer satisfaction actually improved.

Today, Barpel powers voice support for 100+ e-commerce brands, handling customer interactions in 30+ languages. We are just getting started.

2024
Founded in San Francisco
With a mission to democratize AI customer support

Our Journey

2024
Founded
Barpel AI is founded with the vision of AI-first customer service for e-commerce.
2024
Seed Funding
Raised $4.2M seed round led by top-tier commerce and AI investors.
2025
Public Launch
Launched publicly with Shopify integration and multilingual voice support.
2025
100+ Merchants
Crossed 100 active merchants and growing rapidly.
2026
Series A
Raised $18M Series A to expand the platform and enter new markets.

Our Values

The principles that guide every decision we make

Customer First

Every decision we make starts with the customer experience. We build tools that make e-commerce support faster, friendlier, and more effective for the people who matter most: your buyers.

AI Innovation

We push the boundaries of what voice AI can do for commerce. Our team researches, experiments, and ships new capabilities every sprint to keep Barpel at the cutting edge.

Security & Trust

Your data and your customers’ data deserve the highest protection. We encrypt everything, enforce strict access controls, and maintain SOC 2 compliance across our infrastructure.

Simplicity

Complex technology should feel effortless. We design every feature, every screen, and every API to be so simple that you can set up AI voice support in under ten minutes.

Meet the Team

A diverse group of engineers, researchers, and commerce experts building the future of customer support

AC

Alex Chen

Co-Founder & CEO

Former VP of Product at a leading Shopify analytics company. Obsessed with making e-commerce support effortless.

SM

Sarah Mitchell

Co-Founder & CTO

Ex-Google AI researcher with a PhD in natural language processing. Architected the Barpel voice engine from scratch.

MJ

Marcus Johnson

Head of Engineering

Previously led infrastructure at Twilio. Ensures every Barpel call is crystal clear and lightning fast.

PP

Priya Patel

Head of Product

Former Shopify product lead. Translates merchant feedback into features that actually move the needle.

DK

David Kim

Head of AI Research

Published researcher in conversational AI. Leads the team that makes Barpel sound more human every day.

ER

Elena Rodriguez

Head of Customer Success

Spent five years scaling support at a top DTC brand. Knows firsthand what merchants need to grow.

Life at Barpel

We are a remote-first company with team members across North America, Europe, and Asia. We believe great work happens when talented people have the freedom to work from wherever they do their best thinking.

We gather quarterly for team offsites where we hack on new ideas, share learnings, and strengthen the bonds that make remote work effective. Our culture values ownership, transparency, and a bias toward action.

Remote-First
30+ Team Members
8 Countries
Quarterly Offsites
Remote-First Team
Working across 8 countries, united by mission

Join Our Team

We are hiring across engineering, product, and customer success. Come build the future of AI support.

View open positions

Get in Touch

Have questions about Barpel, partnership opportunities, or press inquiries? We would love to hear from you.

Contact us

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