SA artificial intelligence (AI) solutions startup GotBot plans to use a R2.5-million investment it raised from SA venture capital (VC) firm Capaci.Tech earlier this year to further develop its software and software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform.
(AI) start-up Gotbot AI has received a R2.5 million funding investment from venture capital firm CapaciTech.
Gotbot AI is a social commerce and customer experience solution that enables organisations to easily communicate with customers, through Facebook Messenger, Twitter, WeChat, Skype, SMS, and Web chat conversations.
The first such investment of its kind for the three-year-old start-up, the company says the funding will enable its co-founders Nick Argyros and Chris Green, along with COO Craig McLeod, to accelerate new developments and expansion plans.
“We are proud to have partnered with CapaciTech founders, Matthew Emanuel and Jaco De Wet, who specialise in working with start-ups that use technology to scale, specifically to advise and enable in the areas of technology, marketing and human resources,” say Argyros and Green.
Gotbot’s flagship product is its machine learning solution, Custom Care,a platform that automates conversations between brands and their customers.
The platform aggregates multiple digital messaging services (WhatsApp, SMS, Webchat, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Twitter, etc) into one dashboard from where the bot can be trained in real-time using relevant data.
In 2016, Gotbot launched automated social commerce product, Get It, and has since showed steady growth.
Its clients include Toyota, RCS, African Bank, Nissan, Flight Centre, Sanlam, Home Choice and Old Mutual Finance.
CapaciTech investments are made in parallel with partner collaborations to help foster innovative ideas into successful businesses, notes Emanuel.
“With a diverse team and focused leadership, Gotbot had already achieved significant market exposure in the South African start-up ecosystem. Our synergies combined into a formal partnership in 2019, and we are extremely proud to be an ongoing enabler to Gotbot as they expand into other African markets and beyond.”
CEO Argyros comments: “We were never interested in a silent investor. We wanted someone with an established network who would be involved on the ground and walk this road with us, keeping our best interests at heart. We found this in CapaciTech, who understand our culture, and we look forward to achieving greatness together.”