Manychat completes US$140 million Series B financing, using AI to accelerate global social e-commerce layout

In the current context of the rapid development of AI and chat robots, products that can truly bring value to enterprises and users are rare. San Francisco-based startup Manychat recently announced a $140 million Series B financing led by well-known investment firm Summit Partners, showing its leading position in conversational marketing.

Founded in 2015, Manychat focuses on providing enterprises with messaging automation and customer interaction solutions across multiple social platforms. At present, its customers are located in 170 countries around the world, with a user scale of more than 1.5 million, covering international brands such as Nike, the New York Times, and Yahoo, as well as a large number of small businesses and content creators. According to Mike Yan, the company's CEO and co-founder, users send "billions of messages" through the platform every year, covering multiple mainstream platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, etc.

This financing will be mainly used for investment in technology research and development, especially the introduction of more artificial intelligence functions to improve the intelligence level of the platform. At the same time, the company will also expand its sales, marketing and customer service teams in the global market to further expand its business territory.

Unlike many startups that rely on financing to maintain operations, Manychat has basically broken even and has been developing steadily since receiving $18 million in Series A financing in 2019. The success of this round of financing marks that its business model has been highly recognized by the capital market.

The development of Manychat is closely related to the popularity of mobile messaging applications. Yan recalls that the company was inspired by Telegram’s open API, and he realized that companies needed new ways to communicate with users. Compared with emails that are easily overlooked, the messaging platform has become a more direct and efficient interaction channel.

After Facebook Messenger's API was opened, Manychat grew rapidly, achieving monthly coverage of 350 million users in 2019, with a message opening rate of up to 80%. As the APIs of platforms such as TikTok gradually open up, the company continues to expand its coverage and influence.

Although users feel tired of traditional chatbots, Manychat’s differentiation lies in its positioning—not just a “chat tool” but a “action driver” that promotes user engagement and business conversion. Sophia Popova, investment partner of Summit Partners, also pointed out that the "participation layer" built by Manychat provides brands with all-weather interaction capabilities, especially in the current rapid development of social e-commerce, which is particularly critical.