Conversational AI platform Manychat has announced a significant $140 million Series B funding round led by Summit Partners, marking a major milestone in the company's growth trajectory. This investment brings the total funding raised by Manychat to $163 million, with the startup now valued at a reported $58 million post-money valuation.

The funding comes on the heels of strong growth for the company, which has seen its customer base expand to 1.5 million across 170 countries. Notable clients include Nike, the New York Times, and Yahoo, as well as individual creators and smaller businesses. Manychat's platform enables brands to manage and automate conversations and engagement across multiple messaging channels, including TikTok, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger.

CEO and co-founder Mike Yan attributes the company's success to its focus on building a platform that encourages further actions from customers, setting it apart from other chatbots on the market. "We're not just about automating conversations; we're about driving conversions and revenue for our clients," Yan explained. The company plans to use the latest funding to invest in R&D, particularly in bringing more AI into the platform, as well as to boost its sales, marketing, and support globally.

Manychat's growth mirrors the rise of smartphone-based messaging apps over the last decade, as well as the growing opportunity around tooling for helping businesses leverage this medium. The company's trajectory began in 2015, when email inboxes were becoming increasingly cluttered and businesses were looking for alternative ways to connect with customers. Yan, a Telegram user at the time, saw an opportunity to create a tool for businesses to connect with customers on messaging apps, which eventually became Manychat.

The company's early success was fueled by its integration with Telegram, and later with Facebook's Messenger platform. Today, Instagram is Manychat's most engaged and active platform, with the company still supporting marketing on Telegram as well. Manychat's no-code platform has enabled businesses to build chatbots that drive social followers, collect email addresses, respond to comments, and set up flows via DM links to request products or more information.

Sophia Popova, the Summit partner who led the investment and is joining the board of Manychat, believes that the company's approach to building an engagement layer has been a key factor in its success. "Our thesis hinges on a greater proportion of commerce dollars going through social messaging apps," Popova said. "Manychat is hitting the nail on the head by providing a platform that enables businesses to engage with customers 24/7 and drive conversions."

While Manychat has established itself as a leader in the conversational AI space, the company is aware that the gap between its platform and newer AI chatbots may not be there for long. To stay ahead, Manychat is working to build in more AI features to improve its offering and maintain its competitive edge. With its latest funding round, Manychat is poised to continue its growth trajectory and solidify its position as a leading conversational AI platform for businesses.