Dialpad Raises $50M in Series D Funding to ​Transform the Phone Call

We hear from Dialpad CFO Steve Love, as the company doubles down on innovative AI capabilities and expands talent base

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Dialpad50MFunding
Unified Communications

Published: July 23, 2018

Ian Taylor Editor

Ian Taylor

Editor

​, the pure-cloud business communications provider​, has recently announced that it has raised $50 million in Series D funding. ICONIQ Capital led the round, with participation from existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Amasia, Scale Venture Partners, Section 32 and Work-Bench, bringing Dialpad’s total funding to $120 million. The new capital will accelerate momentum for Dialpad’s real-time AI technology and further establish its products as business-critical tools for organisations. Will Griffith of ICONIQ Capital will join Dialpad’s Board of Directors.

UC Today were able to speak to Dialpad’s CFO Steve Love about how they went about the process of finding investment and why they are so selective when it comes to finding the right partners

“”We were in a fortunate position because of the interest in us. We take our investors very seriously and we want to make sure they are engaged and up to date, it’s part of my job to make sure we are fully supporting those parties. But we also want them to support us, do they know what kind of company we are, do they have a track record of investing in high growth companies? ICONIQ distinguished themselves very quickly in this process.”

Dialpad CFO, Steve Love
Dialpad CFO, Steve Love

The new funding follows the recent release of ​VoiceAI​, which Dialpad is currently integrating into its entire product portfolio, including ​Dialpad​, ​Dialpad Call Center​ and ​UberConference​. Dialpad plans to use the new cash injection to strengthen its VoiceAI-powered standalone call centre products for sales and support organisations; leverage its real-time Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) technologies to develop real-time coaching and playbooks that enable frontline teams to personalise the customer experience; and fortify the company’s overall go-to-market strategy.

“Smart CIOs know AI isn’t just another trendy tech tool, it’s the future of work. By arming organisations with VoiceAI’s real-time artificial intelligence and insights, businesses can dramatically improve customer satisfaction and ultimately their bottom line,” said Craig Walker, CEO, Dialpad

“Being able to have every conversation in your business more intelligent thanks to VoiceAI gives our customers a definite competitive advantage. ICONIQ Capital understands this, which is why we are thrilled to join their portfolio and access their expertise in disrupting traditional markets with innovative technology. With their support, we are well positioned to redefine business communications.”

Today, ​92 percent​ of business and customer interactions happen by phone, yet 85 percent of customers are dissatisfied with their phone experience. Since Dialpad’s founding in 2011, the mission has been to make business communications great. More than 55,000 of the world’s most innovative businesses including WeWork, Uber, Motorola Solutions, Domo, Stripe and Xero have abandoned their legacy communication systems in favour of Dialpad’s next-generation cloud architecture and easy-to-deploy platform that spans voice, video, messaging and conferencing. Now, by applying VoiceAI to all external and internal communications, Dialpad is enabling businesses to improve their customer interactions, sell more effectively and make smarter calls – automatically and in real-time.

“The unified communications, conferencing and call centre markets are notoriously crowded and dominated by legacy solutions providers that have been slow to innovate. The total addressable market here is massive. We believe that Dialpad ​is poised to become the leader with its bold vision for improving the way modern businesses communicate and its real-time AI capabilities across its entire product portfolio,” said Will Griffith, Partner, ICONIQ Capital.

“Dialpad truly has an impressive team, from their executives to their engineers, which is why we selected them as our first AI-driven enterprise technology investment.”

Since Dialpad’s last funding round in September 2017, the company has added approximately 10,000 new customers and doubled its annual recurring revenue. With eight offices around the world, Dialpad plans to increase headcount by 50 percent by the end of 2018 and expand its global footprint to EMEA in 2019.

We also too the opportunity to ask Steve about Dialpad’s potential expansion plans and how new investment can enhance their ability to cater for a global market with increased presence in different locations.

“We are very excited about the potential in the UK and in Europe, so you will be seeing us very soon. It is very exciting, the thought of having a more active presence in those regions.”

 

About Dialpad
Dialpad’s mission is to make business communications great. Built on the Google Cloud Platform for unmatched security, reliability and scale, Dialpad’s product suite covers the full range of modern business communications needs with Dialpad, UberConference, Call Center solutions all powered by VoiceAI. Today more than 55,000 of the world’s most innovative businesses use Dialpad and its seamless integrations with Google G Suite and Microsoft Office 365 to be more productive. Customers include WeWork, Uber, Motorola Solutions, Domo and Xero. Investors include Amasia, Andreessen Horowitz, Felicis Ventures, GV, ICONIQ Capital, Salesforce Ventures, Scale Venture Partners, Section 32, Softbank, and Work-Bench.

About ICONIQ Capital
ICONIQ Capital is a privately-held investment firm that serves some of the world’s most influential families and organisations.​​ICONIQ provides financial advisory and family office services, and manages direct investments across asset classes, with specific focus on technology growth equity, venture capital, middle market buyout and real estate.

 

 

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