CleverTap raises $35 million from Sequoia, Tiger Global

Mobile analytics and marketing startup CleverTap on Tuesday said it has raised $35 million in a Series C funding round from existing investors Sequoia India and Tiger Global Management.

CleverTap is a leading AI-powered customer life-cycle and user retention platform.

The new round of funds value CleverTap at $385 million, more than twice of $150 million that it was valued at in the last round of funding.

“We will utilise the funds to set up a new US-based engineering hub, expand our international presence and also look at acquisitions,” Sunil Thomas, co-founder and CEO of CleverTap, told BusinessLine.

The company, which started its operations in late 2015, has been growing at 250 per cent year-on-year (YoY) since then, Thomas said.

"Entry point into newer organisations"

CleverTap’s Series C round is led by existing investors Tiger Global Management and Sequoia India. This new funding increases CleverTap’s outside investment to $61 million since the beginning of 2019 — a period that has seen the company’s valuation more than double from $150 million to $385 million.

So far, the company focused on selling its end to end user retention platform that includes analytics, market segmentation tools etc. Now, CleverTap will also sell each solution as an individual offering to get access to a larger customer base.

“We want to create an entry point into newer organizations and let them try out some of our tools before they decide to buy the entire suite,” Thomas said.

CleverTap’s customer life-cycle and user retention platform leverages machine learning to offer a robust engagement suite that enables brands to convert, engage, retain, and grow their mobile user base. CleverTap currently reaches more than one billion devices and over 8,000 consumer apps in more than 100 countries.

“There is a clear lack of viable solutions in the market today that drive the needed business outcomes for mobile conversion, retention, and growth,” said, Mohit Bhatnagar, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital India LLP. “CleverTap is solving a significant pain point for marketers by offering a user retention platform that can exponentially increase customer lifetime value and long-term growth.”

Global expansion and product development will be primary areas of emphasis for the company. Funds will be used to fuel team growth across engineering, sales, and marketing across the US, Latin America, Europe, and Asia.