Respond.io raises $62.5M to expand messaging platform

Respond.io, a customer conversation management platform based in Malaysia, has raised $62.5 million in a Series B round—a stage of venture capital funding. The financing round was led by Camber Partners, with participation from Endeavor Catalyst. Founded in 2017, the Kuala Lumpur-headquartered startup previously raised a $7 million Series A round in 2022.

The company disclosed several key financial metrics to TechCrunch:

• Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR): $35 million
• Year-over-year growth: 169%
• Profit margin: 30%

The platform helps mid- to large-sized business-to-consumer companies manage customer conversations across multiple messaging channels, such as WhatsApp, Instagram, and TikTok. Unlike traditional enterprise software competitors that rely on email or voice calls, Respond.io focuses on messaging channels and uses AI agents to automatically handle high volumes of customer inquiries. The company currently processes 2 billion messages per quarter.

Salandra founded the company in 2017 alongside co-founders Hassan Ahmed, who serves as CTO, and Iaroslav Kudritskiy, the COO. Before founding Respond.io, Salandra worked at IBM and Google, and later joined Runtastic, which was sold to Adidas in 2015. According to Salandra, the high volume of message data processed by the platform creates a feedback loop. More messages improve the AI’s performance, which attracts more customers and generates more data. Salandra refers to this process as a data flywheel. He noted that established platforms in North America and Europe were built around email and phone calls. “The platforms that exist, they bolted on messaging as a second thought. They’re very email focused, they’re very call focused, but when it comes to messaging, it’s an afterthought,” Salandra said.

With the new capital, Respond.io plans to pursue hiring, organic growth, and acquisitions. Salandra stated that the company is targeting acquisitions of established teams with strong customer bases in strategic markets, specifically targeting companies with 200 to 10,000 employees.

This geographic push represents a shift in the company’s revenue distribution. Currently, Respond.io generates:

• Roughly 30% of its revenue from APAC
• 30% from Latin America
• 20% from the Middle East and Africa
• 20% from North America and Western Europe

However, Salandra expects North America and Western Europe to become the company’s largest segment within two to three years, as businesses in those regions rapidly adopt messaging channels.

Why it matters

Respond.io plans to use its $62.5 million Series B funding to fuel expansion into North America and Europe, aiming to capture market share in the messaging-based customer conversation management space.