Bolt Insights Raises $8.6M to Cut Research Cycles to Minutes
Bolt Insights secures $8.6M to compress research cycles from weeks to minutes with AI-moderated interviews and dynamic personas for Diageo, Unilever, L'Oréal.
Bolt Insights, a consumer research firm serving Diageo, Unilever, and L'Oréal, has secured £7 million (~US$8.6 million) in funding to develop AI tools that reduce research cycles from weeks to minutes. The December 2025 funding round supports the company's vision of replacing traditional project-based research with always-on intelligence systems.
The investment validates predictions from Ester Marchetti, Bolt Insights' co-founder and chief innovation officer, who forecasts 2026 as the year AI fundamentally transforms corporate research operations. "Instead of waiting weeks for answers, teams are increasingly able to ask a question and receive decision-ready insight in minutes," Marchetti said.
Real-Time Intelligence Replaces Periodic Studies
Bolt Insights is building what it calls an "assistant AI chief insights officer" to enable continuous consumer monitoring for multinational brands. The company's BoltChatAI platform conducts AI-moderated qualitative interviews that eliminate traditional recruiting, moderation, and analysis timelines.
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This shift aligns with broader market trends. Gartner predicts 80% of digital content will be AI-generated by 2026, while 75% of organizations are already integrating generative AI into operations, according to McKinsey.
The technology addresses specific pain points for Asian CMOs managing fragmented regional markets. While 90% to 97% of brands in Asia are increasing creator marketing budgets, they need faster insights to adapt messaging across diverse cultural contexts.
Dynamic Personas Replace Static Documents
Bolt Insights is deploying what it calls "dynamic personas" for clients including L'Oréal and Reckitt. Unlike traditional persona documents that become outdated within months, these models update continuously as new consumer conversations and behaviors are added.
"Dynamic Personas update continuously as new conversations and behaviors are added," Marchetti explained. The approach allows global teams to compare persona behaviors across 15-plus markets while maintaining local context, addressing a critical challenge for multinational brands operating in Asia's diverse markets.
The technology reflects a broader infrastructure shift. Research from corporate planning surveys shows 44% of research initiatives are now led by CTOs or CIOs rather than CMOs, indicating AI adoption requires technical leadership and data integration capabilities.
Ethics Becomes Competitive Differentiator
As AI embeds deeper into research workflows, Marchetti emphasizes transparency will separate market leaders from followers. "Ethical AI and data integrity will not be optional features, they will be core differentiators," she said.
This extends beyond regulatory compliance to explaining data sourcing, AI training methods, decision-making processes, and where human oversight occurs. Platforms unable to demonstrate responsible practices will lose trust, particularly among larger brands and regulated industries, according to Bolt's analysis.
The company argues AI elevates rather than replaces researchers. "Researchers become insight strategists who help organizations understand what the data means, not just what it says," Marchetti explained. AI handles scale and speed while humans provide curiosity, judgment, and strategic interpretation.
Bolt Insights' client roster, which also includes Vodafone, positions the firm as a testing ground for how multinational corporations will restructure research operations in 2026. The company has not disclosed Asia-specific adoption metrics or regional expansion plans.
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