The AI-powered digital marketing firm Insider just raised $105 million from the Qatar Investment Authority and Esas Private Equity. The new funds will exclusively go toward M&A activity as Insider is actively pursuing a growth-through-acquisition strategy.
Insider helps brands deliver personalized experiences across marketing channels. The company said the current economic volatility presents an opportunity “to achieve unparalleled growth through an M&A-focused strategy.”
The investment comes fourteen months after Insider closed a $121 million funding round. The new raise supplements its “significant growth reserves” said CEO Hande Cilingir in the official press release published today.
Insider achieved rapid growth organically but it is now focusing on strengthening its marketing platform by incorporating solutions developed by third parties. The goal is “acquiring exceptional product companies” that complement Insider’s technology and roadmap.
Insider already made its first acquisition this year with MindBehind, a messaging platform. Cilingir said the response encouraged further acquisition opportunities “to better serve our customers, drive more value and source innovative solutions.”
New chief strategy officer Faraaz Khan, who joined the startup from Sitecore, will accelerate growth through M&A and partnerships. His prior role saw seven acquisitions closed in four years.
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“In a tough macro-economic environment, Hande and the entire Insider team have shown resilience, tenacity and a strong focus on customer needs”, said Pieter Kemps of Sequoia Capital, on the firm’s current backers.
Meanwhile, the Qatar Investment Authority said that Insider’s resilience and growth strategy encouraged its follow-on investment. The investment fund aims to support “companies at the forefront of innovation.”
Insider boasts over 1,200 customers including global brands like Estee Lauder, Samsung, Virgin, and Allianz. The firm was recently named a Gartner Leader with accolades from Forrester and IDC.
Over 20 New Features Were Added to the Insider Marketing Platform Last Month
Insider recently rolled out over 20 new features, including an Integration Hub, WhatsApp Commerce, personalized search, and Web Push support for Mac and iOS, to help brands future-proof their customer experiences and drive revenue.
The new Integration Hub allows Insider to connect with over 100 marketing and tech tools through pre-selected or custom integrations. This lets businesses unify data, elevate experiences, and increase efficiency across their stack.
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Insider also launched WhatsApp Commerce to enable conversational buying experiences within the popular messaging app. The solution lets brands engage with customers through promotions, leads capture, product launches, and more. It reportedly reduced cart abandonment by up to 61% for some clients.
Meanwhile, Insider’s Eureka personalized search platform uses AI to curate intelligent, relevant search results tailored to each user’s preferences. Filters and sorting options improve search precision and product discovery.
Finally, Web Push support now lets Insider send notifications to Safari web apps on Mac, iOS, and iPadOS devices – reaching 1.5 billion active iOS users even when apps aren’t open.
Insider is a Women-led Tech Unicorn that Helps Brands Predict Customers’ Behavior
Create the ultimate #customerexperience with Insider and our trusted ecosystem of 100+ connectors and integrations.
Designed to help you customize your #martech stack to your organization's needs and goals. With integrations available across 20+ categories, including CRM,… pic.twitter.com/Th0PZG0miN
— Insider (@useinsider) April 7, 2023
Insider uses artificial intelligence to predict customers’ future behavior by analyzing existing data obtained by the companies they serve. Once their decision paths have been predicted, they create highly customized experiences that may ultimately increase conversion rates.
In its March 2022 Series D funding round, Insider was valued at $1.22 billion, effectively unlocking the widely sought status of “unicorn” in the startup space. The company said back then that it planned to significantly expand its headcount over the next four years by creating over 2,000 new job positions.
“We’ve been blitzscaling remarkably in the past three years and achieved 3X growth. In the same period, our global team grew by 300%, and our customer base continues to increase”, Cilingir commented back then.
The startup was founded in 2012 by its current CEO and five other entrepreneurs who are currently part of Insider’s team including the firm’s Chief Revenue Officer, Serhat Soyuerel, Chief Customer Officer, Arda Koterin, and Chief Product Officer, Muharrem Deinkök.
In March 2022, the Insider team was comprised of 700 workers spread across 28 different countries. The company considers itself a women-led enterprise with 60% of its top executive being female individuals.
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