By Rachel Stone in Charlottesville, Virginia
12 March, 2020: Kore.ai, an Orlando, Florida-based conversational AI software startup, is looking to raise Series C capital to fund geographic growth, according to CEO Raj Koneru.
Kore.ai retained Marlin & Associates for its USD 11m growth investment in November 2019 and has already engaged the firm as a financial advisor for its Series C, which it is looking to complete in the next quarter. Vistara Capital Partners made the recent investment, pushing the AI company’s total funding to more than USD 60m.
A traditional growth investor in the technology space could lead the Series C, though several strategic investors have already reached out about participating, Koneru said. The company expects to reach profitability within the next fiscal year and has already received offers from potential buyers, but the executive said it was too early to sell.
Instead, it aims to raise between USD 30m and USD 50m to use over the next two to three years to expand sales and marketing and, to a lesser extent, on product development.
In the upcoming fiscal year, which starts 1 April, Kore.ai plans to start selling in Japan. It has found “very high demand” for conversational AI technology in the country, which is also the third-largest economy in the world, Koneru said. North America is Kore.ai’s primary market, though it also operates in Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific.
