Uniphore, a conversational automation company, has announced its Series E funding round of $400 million.
The round, which brings Uniphores total funding to more than half a billion ($610 million), is led by NEA and raises the company's valuation to $2.5 billion. March Capital, other existing Uniphore investors and some new entities are also participating in this funding round.
The latest round of funding is Uniphores largest to date, and the company says it will use it to extend Uniphores technology and market leadership. It says it will be used for advancements in voice AI, computer vision and tonal emotion, and expanding its business operations globally, specifically in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
"The market for automating enterprise conversations has rapidly accelerated in the past few years as companies recognise the impact of positive customer interactions on their brand image and customer loyalty," says Uniphore CEO and co-founder, Umesh Sachdev.
"As a result, many businesses have turned to AI and automation to create smooth and frictionless customer experiences, and Uniphore has been at the forefront of innovation leading the industry."
He says understanding conversations and the data and insights derived from them is essential to every business. "Our conversational automation engine has been delivering powerful and innovative solutions to help enterprises not just survive but thrive amidst all the demands placed on them by customers."
"It is an exciting time to be in this industry and at Uniphore, with a rapidly growing customer base and unparalleled talent joining our leadership team and board of directors. I am looking forward to working with businesses around the world to help drive their success in 2022," he adds.
Uniphore's rapid growth rate has also garnered new additions to its team. Hilarie Koplow-McAdams has been appointed venture partner, NEA, to Uniphores Board of Directors. Koplow-McAdams is a seasoned enterprise software and services executive who brings over three decades of experience for growth-stage and established companies. Bolstering the strength of its leadership team, the company also recently appointed Balaji Raghavan as chief technology officer, Andrew Dahlkemper as chief people officer, and Vinod Muthukrishnan as senior vice president, Developer Platforms.
In addition to two major acquisitions, Emotion Research Lab for added capabilities in emotion AI, and Jacada, for enhanced low-code or no-code capabilities, Uniphore celebrated other key milestones in 2021, including:
- Named as one of the fastest-growing tech companies in North America on the 2021Deloitte Technology Fast 500 list.
- Receiving the 2021 Frost - Sullivan Global Technology Innovation Leadership Award in Conversational Automation.
- Rapidly growing its global customer base.
- Publishing results from a consumer survey that confirmed consumer openness to AI and Automation to improve engagements.
"When we look at Uniphores technology and the great advances the company has made in the last few years, we're very excited about its future product roadmap and are thrilled to participate in this new round," says Koplow-McAdams.
"As we continue to operate in an increasingly virtual work model, technologies like Uniphores are a necessity for organisations that want to unleash their competitive advantage and take their business to the next level."