Uniphore raises $140 million Series D led by Sorenson Capital

Conversational AI technology company Uniphore has raised $140 million in a Series D funding round led by Sorenson Capital Partners.

The round saw participation from new investors from Europe and the Middle East -- Serena Capital, Sanabil Investments -- and Cisco Investments, the company said in a statement. 

Returning investors in the round included March Capital Partners, National Grid Partners, Chiratae Ventures, Iron Pillar Fund and Sistema Capital.

With this round, the total capital raised by the company, which has operations in Palo Alto, California, and Chennai, stands at $210 million.

Uniphore said that this is the largest funding round it has raised till date. The capital will be used to extend the company’s technology and market leadership in AI, automation and machine learning across the enterprise. This will also include a focus on video-based AI applications stemming from Uniphore’s acquisition of Emotion Research Labs earlier this year as well as applications in the trust, security and RPA markets.

Additionally, the company has appointed Rob Rueckert, managing partner at Sorenson Capital Partners, to its board of directors. Rueckert is an experienced technology-focused executive who brings a strong background in both product innovation and growth, Uniphore said.

“As a leading investor in transformational enterprise technology, we were very impressed by the Uniphore team and what they have been able to do for customers and the broader market. We are excited to back Uniphore and believe 2021 will be a breakout year of innovations and tremendous progress in transforming CX for the enterprise," Rueckert said.

Uniphore’s solutions help organisations manage and analyse contact center engagements, providing a better customer experience and thus driving better business results.

“Given the rapid digital transformation happening across the enterprise, the need for automated and intelligent solutions to help drive new business models has never been greater.  We saw this years ago and have been delivering innovation to areas such as contact centers, to enable better customer experiences. With our recent acquisitions of RPA and video AI technology, we alone can deliver a conversational service automation platform for the modern enterprise, combining conversational AI and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) across voice and video-based engagements,” Umesh Sachdev, CEO and co-founder of Uniphore, said.

“This injection of capital and new addition to our board leadership will fuel our growth, position us to outpace the competition and help transform business through dramatically improved customer experiences,” he added.

Uniphore expects to achieve $100 million in contracted annual recurring revenue (ARR) in fiscal 2022. It is on track to hire more than ­­300 employees this next fiscal year.

Last year, the company tripled its revenues on the back of increased reliance on contact centres, AI and automation to strengthen customer service. It signed several multi million-dollar contracts with Fortune 50 companies and CX business providers.  

In November 2020, it partnered with RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group-owned Firstsource Solutions. https://www.techcircle.in/2020/11/09/firstsource-partners-with-uniphore-to-upgrade-contact-centre-solution. Last year it also added more than 100 employees, including a new CFO, to its global roster.  

In January 2021, the company announced its acquisition of Spanish video and emotion AI startup Emotion Research Lab for an undisclosed amount. Earlier this year, it added former Cisco CEO John Chambers, former Convergys CEO Andrea J Ayers and CrowdStrike CFO Burt Podbere to its board of directors.