- HQ
- San Francisco, USA
- Company size
- 201-500
- Funding raised
- $200M
- Lead investors
- Y Combinator, Mike Dinsdale and Abdulla Albanna, Andreessen Horowitz, Mubadala Capital
- Team location
- Eastern Europe
- Cooperation time
- since 2017
- Product
- Predictive sales management platform powered by AI
- Notable clients
- Verizon, IBM, Zoom, Cisco, Unity, Nvidia, AppDynamics
PEOPLE AI: R&D center with 25+ rare developers
Backstory (ex-People.ai) is a leading US-based AI data platform for go-to-market teams, driving trillions in pipeline and revenue. It transforms daily business activities into account and opportunity management solutions that maximize marketing ROI and drive revenue growth. In 2021, the company raised $100 million and earned a $1.1 billion valuation, becoming a unicorn.
Issue
Backstory had already chosen Eastern Europe as its go-to destination for scaling its engineering team. The talent was there – senior engineers with niche expertise in AI, Data Science, and backend. 50% of cost savings vs the US. A work ethic that matched Silicon Valley.
The problem wasn’t the destination. It was the execution.
To get started, Backstory engaged multiple service providers simultaneously. Some handled different functions, others duplicated the same work across recruitment, legal, and operations. Nobody owned the outcome. Deadlines started slipping.
For a company competing in the AI market, every delayed hire is a delayed feature. Every week of coordination chaos is a week a competitor moves ahead.
Backstory needed one partner to own the entire infrastructure: recruitment, Employer of Record, office setup, and compliance, so leadership time that was spent on vendor coordination would finally be invested in the product.
Solution
That’s where Alcor came in.
Our legal and finance team designed the most advantageous entity structure for running Backstory’s engineering operation in Ukraine. We not only ensured full compliance with both US and Ukrainian law but also unlocked special IT tax incentives that reduced employment costs from day one. Not just protected. Financially optimized.
In parallel, our real estate team identified the right office location in Eastern Europe, negotiated the lease, and equipped the space, making it fully operational within one month. Backstory’s team never spent an hour on landlord negotiations or procurement.
Our 40 in-house tech recruiters sourced specifically for what Backstory needed: engineers with deep expertise in Python, Scala, Java, Kafka, and Big Data – and a product mindset strong enough to work directly alongside a Silicon Valley core team. Every candidate was pre-screened for technical depth and cultural fit. No bulk applications, no irrelevant CVs.
In the first year of cooperation, Alcor hired 25 engineers for Backstory. Now, the number is 50.
RESULTS:
Build Your AI Engineering Team in 30 Days
No vendor chaos. 0 compliance risk. No more recruiting delays.
Alcor Helped Build the Foundation for Everything That Followed
Alcor builds Backstory’s Eastern Europe AI R&D team
Backstory raises $100M, reaches $1.1B valuation – becomes a unicorn
Named to Deloitte Technology Fast 500 two years running
Recognized as a Visionary in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Revenue Action Orchestration
Launches SalesAI + MCP integration, connecting AI agents – including Claude and ChatGPT – to revenue intelligence data
Use our calculator to estimate your team budget before any conversations starts
Clients Love Us. Teams Do Too.
“The Alcor team has always been supportive and approachable whenever assistance was needed. Rather than feeling like an external resource, engineers working through Alcor are able to integrate closely with the client’s teams. This creates a more collaborative environment and allows engineers to have a greater impact.”
“My overall experience has been outstanding. Alcor’s model offered the right balance — strong operational support combined with genuine ownership and long-term collaboration. In this model, I am a core member of the team. Rather than rotating between projects, I can invest meaningfully in improving the product and establishing processes that deliver lasting value.”
“Whenever I’ve had tricky bank requests or needed extra documentation, Alcor has resolved everything rapidly. I also love their support with business trips and expense tracking—it’s incredibly convenient. Their team is always available via messenger and ready to help. Highly recommended for anyone who wants a hassle-free professional life!”
“Alcor has been a reliable partner throughout, especially in complex situations. Issues are resolved quickly — often within minutes or hours. Their ability to adapt and support us in complex situations has made a real difference for our team.”
