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Glean

Enterprise Work AI with permissions-aware RAG across 100+ apps

Enterprise Choice

Glean is a premium enterprise RAG platform with permissions-aware AI as its core differentiator. Founded by ex-Google Search engineers, Glean achieved $100M ARR in three years and a $7.2B valuation (2025). It connects 100+ enterprise apps with real-time access controls, supports 15+ LLMs, and offers comprehensive APIs with 4-language SDKs. Trade-offs: enterprise-only sales (~$50/user/month, ~$60K minimum), no consumer messaging channels, and premium positioning over plug-and-play simplicity.

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Overall Rating

4.8

450 reviews

Features4.8
Ease of Use4.6
Support4.7
Value3.6
Performance4.8

Company Information

Founded

2019

Headquarters

Palo Alto, CA

Company Size

201-500 employees

Funding

$360M total (Series E: $260M at $7.2B valuation in 2025)

Pros

  • Permissions-aware AI is genuinely differentiated - real-time enforcement across 100+ datasources addresses critical enterprise concern
  • Strong developer experience - comprehensive APIs, 4-language SDKs (Python, Java, Go, TypeScript), LangChain integration
  • Model flexibility without vendor lock-in - 15+ LLMs with per-step selection and bring-your-own-key option
  • Enterprise-grade compliance - SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR, TX-RAMP Level 2
  • Proven ROI - 141% ROI, $15.6M NPV (Forrester), 25% precision increases, 20% faster responses (customer data)

Cons

  • Premium enterprise pricing (~$50/user/month) with ~$60K minimum ACV makes it cost-prohibitive for SMBs
  • No consumer messaging channels - missing WhatsApp, Telegram, and no native Zapier integration
  • Enterprise-only sales model with no self-service signup or transparent pricing
  • Multi-language support uneven - only English, German, Japanese have full support (French/Spanish partial)
  • Paid POCs reportedly up to $70K - no free trial, high barrier to evaluation

Key Highlights

Permissions-aware AI with real-time access control enforcement across 100+ enterprise datasources
Founded by ex-Google Search engineers, achieved $100M ARR in 3 years with $7.2B valuation (2025)
Model-agnostic platform supporting 15+ LLMs with per-step selection and zero data retention
141% ROI and $15.6M NPV over 3 years with 110 hours saved per employee annually (Forrester TEI)

Best Use Cases

Enterprise-wide unified search with permissions enforcement
Knowledge management across 100+ disparate enterprise applications
Compliance-sensitive industries requiring granular access controls (healthcare, finance)
Large organizations (10K-100K users) with complex permission hierarchies
Developer teams building AI-powered internal tools with RAG APIs

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