Cloud communication startup Exotel has reportedly raised USD 40 million in a Series D funding round that was led by Steadview Capital. The startup intends to revolutionize its platform into a primary interface for full-service customer interaction.
According to reports, the fresh funds will be utilized to expand into countries in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Amidst the rising demand for cloud telephony, Exotel expects steady growth in the upcoming years.
Although the cloud telephone company has been bootstrapped for most of its existence, the new funding has allowed it to reach a valuation of USD 100 million in only 15 months. It claims to have an annualized revenue return (ARR) of USD 50 million and is expanding at a rate of 70%.
Ravi Mehta, the founder of Steadview Capital, asserted that given the current pandemic situation, customer commitment is fundamental to the success of any business and Exotel has emerged as the appropriate solution for the same.
It is worth noting that Exotel has acquired over 1300 customers in the last year alone, including Bajaj Allianz, City Mall, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), ITC Salaam (Saudi Arabia), Shadowfax, and Krazybee among others.
Exotel's CEO and co-founder, Shivakumar Ganesan, stated that the startup is on the path of progressing from a business that communicates with its customers to one that engages with them through various mediums such as chat, voice, video, email, and bots.
Ganesan further added that enterprises are looking to unify their customers' journeys by connecting separated channels, and applications among others via the cloud to give the users a full-stack experience.
Sources claimed that Exotel was able to drive demand due to its recent merger with Ameyo, a contact center platform, and the acquisition of Cogno AI, a conversational AI platform that is enabling the ease of communication for the venture.
Notably, the tech firm is also searching for more acquisition targets to enhance its users' full-stack building experience.
Source credit: