Dialpad is set to spend a huge chunk of its recently raised $170m on research and development, the firm’s CFO has told UC Today.
Mike Kourey said that the vendor now has over $200m in the bank and more than one-third of the funds raised are set to go on the further development of its platform.
Kourey praised the technology being produced at Dialpad, including its transcription software and AI which provides actionable insights to sales representatives in real-time.
The firm announced its Series F funding round at the end of last year, which it said gave it a valuation of $2.2bn.
International expansion is another major area Dialpad is looking to invest in, Kourey explained – with the vendor planning to double its EMEA headcount this year.
“We’re making a big investment internationally,” he said.
“We’re investing in the UK [which is] a big one. Japan is big for us, and New Zealand is a big one for us.”
“We already have a presence in 49 countries and we’re making some deep investments in those areas. We can use the UK as a headquarters and expand from here.”
Kourey said that this emphasis on product development and global expansion could culminate in Dialpad listing as a public company, further strengthening its resources.
The CFO has a track record of driving public listings having worked on IPOs at Okta, RingCentral, Aruba Networks, Riverbed and Poly. His credentials in this area were highlighted by Dialpad when he joined the firm last September.
“If we strategically decide to pull the trigger then we would move to the public markets,” he explained.
“This would give us even more of a war chest and, with the use of the funds, we could invest in the business, the product and R&D that I talked about, and global expansion.”
Kourey wouldn’t go into details on Dialpad’s financial targets for the coming quarters but said it expects to beat forecasts “each and every quarter”.
Google will also have an influence on how the funds are spent being one of their biggest investors, as Rich Miner, the co-founder of Android, is on Dialpad’s board of directors and represents Google’s interests. Google is also an investor in Dialpad’s latest funding campaign.
Dialpad is an AI-powered communication and collaboration company that has raised $418m to date and is reportedly valued at $2.2bn.
