Internal customer support platforms are undergoing a significant shift, moving away from traditional email ticketing systems and chat platforms towards more modern channels like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and even Discord. However, this shift has also introduced a new challenge: managing multiple channels can become unwieldy, especially when dealing with hundreds of channels. This is where Plain, a UK-based startup, comes in, offering a solution to streamline customer support across multiple channels.

Plain's API-first platform consolidates all these communication channels, allowing businesses to provide seamless support to their customers. According to CEO Simon Rohrbach, "It means you can literally talk to your customers wherever they are." The platform can also handle chat and email in the same way as traditional help desks like Zendesk or Intercom, but with the added ability to power Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Discord via a single UI.

Rohrbach emphasized the speed and user-friendliness of the platform, stating, "It's just really fast to use. People really love using it, and it has all the traditional support functionality, metrics around SLAs, response times, and so on." Moreover, Plain's platform is designed to facilitate internal collaboration between support, customer success, engineering, and other teams, which is becoming increasingly important as customer support evolves.

The startup has now raised $15 million in a Series A funding round led by Battery Ventures, with continued participation from Index Ventures and Connect Ventures. This investment will be used to establish Plain's first U.S. office in San Francisco, further expanding its presence in the market.

Plain was founded by Rohrbach and Matt Vagni, who previously worked at Deliveroo from its early days. Rohrbach led Deliveroo's 40-person content, research, and design team, while Vagni worked on design systems and internal tooling. The startup has already attracted a range of customers, including Sanity, Laravel, Stytch, and Raycast.

In a statement, Neeraj Agrawal, a Battery Ventures general partner, noted, "B2B support is moving into this new era of collaboration and AI." While Plain is not the only player in the business of aggregating customer support channels, its unique approach and API-first platform set it apart from competitors like Thena and Pylon.

In the US, Thena has raised over $7 million from investors like Lightspeed and First Round Capital, while Pylon landed $17 million in investment last year to build a full-service B2B customer service platform. Pylon now has over 250 customers, making it a significant player in the market.

As the customer support landscape continues to evolve, Plain's innovative approach and fresh funding position it well to capitalize on the growing demand for streamlined, multi-channel support solutions. With its sights set on the US market, Plain is poised to make a significant impact in the industry.