Chatbots and AI agents have become ubiquitous in today’s digital landscape, yet their utility varies significantly for businesses and consumers alike. Among the startups navigating this space, Manychat stands out, recently announcing a substantial growth round aimed at expanding its operations. The company has secured 0 million in a Series B funding round led by Summit Partners.
This funding comes on the heels of impressive growth for Manychat, which now boasts approximately 1.5 million customers across 170 countries. Its diverse clientele includes renowned brands such as Nike, the New York Times, and Yahoo, alongside individual creators and smaller enterprises.
Mike Yan, CEO and co-founder of Manychat, shared that the platform facilitates the transmission of “billions” of messages annually for its users across popular channels like TikTok, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. The newly acquired funds will be allocated towards research and development, particularly to enhance the platform’s AI capabilities, as well as to bolster global sales, marketing, and customer support efforts.
In a noteworthy achievement for a startup in this era, Manychat operates with a level of profitability, with Yan describing the company as “always operating on the edge of being kind of break even.” Since its inception in 2015, Manychat had raised only around million prior to this round, primarily from an million Series A round in 2019. The specifics of the other investors in the Series B round remain undisclosed, and while the company has not revealed its valuation, it is expected to exceed the modest million post-money valuation noted by PitchBook for the Series A.
From Telegram to Instagram
The journey of Manychat reflects the evolution of smartphone-based messaging applications over the past decade, highlighting the growing demand for tools that enable businesses to effectively engage with their audiences. In 2015, as email began to lose its effectiveness as a marketing medium, Yan, fresh from a previous venture, recognized the potential of messaging apps, particularly after Telegram opened its APIs.
“Telegram was actually one of the first western messaging apps to open up its APIs,” Yan recalled. “As users of Telegram ourselves, we saw a clear job to be done.” He noted that while companies were still relying on email to connect with users, the real engagement was happening on messaging platforms. This realization led Yan and co-founder Anton Gorin to develop the initial version of Manychat, targeting businesses on Telegram. Their efforts gained traction, eventually leading them to the 500 Startups accelerator.
The company’s growth accelerated significantly when Facebook opened its Messenger APIs. By the time Manychat secured its Series A in 2019, it was reaching 350 million users monthly on the platform, boasting billions of messages sent and an impressive open rate of 80%. The expansion of APIs across other Meta-owned platforms and TikTok has further fueled this growth, with Instagram emerging as the most active platform for Manychat today.
Interestingly, Manychat’s inception and much of its growth occurred prior to the rise of generative AI and the introduction of AI chatbots like Anthropic’s Claude, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and Google’s Gemini. Early descriptions of Manychat emphasized its ability to blend automation with personal outreach, allowing customers to create chatbots for various purposes, including growing social media followings and collecting email addresses.
Yan believes that Manychat’s focus on driving user engagement sets it apart from many existing chatbots, particularly generative AI models. Sophia Popova, the Summit partner who led the investment and will join Manychat’s board, expressed confidence in the company’s strategy. “Our thesis hinges on a greater proportion of commerce dollars going through social messaging apps,” she stated. “You need to be always on and engaging 24/7. That is what customers expect, and Manychat is hitting the nail on the head.” She further noted that while numerous AI chatbots exist, few are designed to personalize conversations in a way that effectively drives revenue conversion.
While Manychat currently enjoys a competitive edge, the rapid pace of development in the AI sector means that this advantage may not last indefinitely. This urgency drives Manychat to integrate more AI features into its platform, ensuring it remains at the forefront of the evolving landscape.
