Three Cork teenagers have launched Kríos, an AI-powered sales training platform designed to help sales representatives practise customer conversations and receive instant coaching feedback, targeting businesses that rely on outbound sales teams across the solar, telecommunications and home security sectors.

The launch, reported by Think Business, follows the founders' own experience of inadequate sales training during Ireland's Student Enterprise Mini Company programme, where their previous venture Tie Towel generated €4,000 in sales and won Best Innovation and Best Sales awards nationally.

Kríos was founded by CEO Ahroon Santhosh, aged 17, CTO Michael Sweeney, aged 18, and Abraham Kurian, aged 17. The company has already entered pilot programmes with its first customers and plans to expand into the UK and US markets, where high-volume outbound sales models remain common.

Santhosh said: "Kríos gives reps unlimited AI roleplay practice and gives managers call analysis and dashboards so they can see who needs help without sitting in on every call."

The platform allows sales representatives to engage with customised AI personas designed to replicate real customer interactions. Its AI coaching assistant, Nyx, provides a detailed debrief after each session, helping users identify areas for improvement. Managers can create bespoke customer personas, adjust objections to mirror real-world scenarios and integrate the system with CRM platforms including HubSpot and Salesforce. Nyx can also analyse live sales calls and provide coaching feedback based on real customer interactions.

The start-up is supported by Republic of Work, Cork's entrepreneurship hub, the Tech Industry Alliance and its Local Enterprise Office. Kríos has also received an ElevenLabs Start-up Grant of US$4,500 (approximately €3,780) in credits to develop and refine its voice models and roleplay capabilities.

Santhosh said of the idea's origin: "We were walking through one of the estates we used to sell in, reminiscing, and that's where the idea for Kríos started: how do we actually train people to do this well?"

Despite interest from venture capital investors, the founding team is concentrating on customer development and product refinement ahead of any formal fundraising round, while simultaneously preparing for their Leaving Certificate examinations.