Tiger Global leads $23 million Series B for WATI, a CRM tool built for WhatsApp

Acquah Nana Yeboah -

WATI, a Hong Kong and Malaysia-headquartered startup announced it has raised $23 million in Series B funding led by Tiger Global.

  • Founded by Bianca Ho and Ken Yeung in 2020, WATI (WhatsApp Team Inbox) helps non-technical businesses scale their customer support, customer engagement and acquisition through its CRM.
  • The startup currently has more than 6,000 customers in 75 countries, including SMBs in spaces like house cleaning, schools, education centers, edtech, fintech, medical facilities, D2C brands and Shopify stores.
  • WATI’s customer engagement software is built on WhatsApp for Business’ API and lets clients send personalized notifications. The platform includes a collaborative team inbox used by multiple agents, and features like smart routing, canned responses, data tagging and analytics.
  • According to the CEO, WATI's closest competitor is the native WhatsApp for Business app, which most SMBs start off using, but insists WATI is a suitable fit for them as their businesses scale.
  • The funds will be used to increase their workforce and invest in WATI’s product stack for low-code automation. The company plans to also expand Latin America and other Southeast Asian countries.
  • Other participants in the round include Sequoia Capital India & Southeast Asia, and new investors DST Global Partners and Shopify. This round marks Shopify's first investment in a Southeast Asian startup.