DBIC Ventures has led an €800,000 investment round in Klearcom, which will see the company expand to the US and hire an additional more than 30 people by year-end 2023.
Klearcom is a Waterford-based SaaS company operating in the global interactive voice response (IVR) assurance market. Organisations with vast customer bases use IVR systems to route and prioritise incoming calls. However, any glitch in the process can lead to lost customers and therefore revenues. Klearcom automates tests for large multinationals to ensure seamless customer interactions with their IVR systems across all geographies.
The funding will support Klearcom as it prepares to open an office in the US next year – allowing it to target large domestic US companies – in addition to its Waterford HQ and a satellite office in Ahmedabad, India. As it expands, Klearcom expects to grow to a team of 50 by year-end 2023. The roles, the majority of which will be Waterford-based, will be in areas including sales, R&D, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), and operations.
The new roles will support Klearcom as it develops new product offerings. The company’s expanded services will have a strong focus on AI and ML, which will enable Klearcom to predict trends and problems before they occur.
DBIC Ventures led the investment round by contributing €300,000 from its latest early-stage fund. Launched in 2019, the fund will invest in up to 30 highly scalable, export-focused Irish software and MedTech companies by year-end 2024. The fund is backed by leading Irish technology entrepreneurs and business leaders, as well as Enterprise Ireland. Other contributors to the Klearcom investment round were the Halo Business Angel Network (€250,000) and Enterprise Ireland (€250,000). The funding will give Klearcom the institutional backing it needs to expand its team and accelerate its business.
Liam Dunne, co-founder and CEO, Klearcom, said: “The speed at which technology – and therefore customer expectations – is evolving has meant that customer experience is a huge focus for businesses. Yet they have a blind spot when it comes to IVR performance and as a result, they are losing valuable customers. Klearcom replicates the customer experience and raises a flag when there is an issue.
“The IVR testing market is saturated by companies using legacy infrastructure. We are a young competitor and have the agility required to relentlessly innovate and bring one-of-a-kind services to the market.
“The investment from DBIC Ventures is truly accelerating the company and it has allowed us to expand our board with the addition of Colm O’Sullivan. Together with the rest of the DBIC Ventures team, he is bringing us the international expertise and experience to become one of the largest, most successful SaaS companies in Ireland in the next four years.”
“Klearcom’s unique offering and strong focus on cutting-edge technology makes it an exciting player in the global IVR testing market. As an export-focused software company, which is already operating at scale serving customers globally, it is an obvious fit for DBIC Ventures,” said Colm O’Sullivan, partner, DBIC Ventures.
“This is a true partnership between DBIC Ventures and Klearcom. I am excited to be a part of the Klearcom success story by joining its board and look forward to supporting the company and its founders as it expands and transforms a market.”
“Klearcom is an innovative regionally-based technology start-up that has demonstrated from the outset an ability to bring its solution to an international customer base,” said Niall McEvoy, manager, Enterprise Ireland High Potential Start-Up Unit. “The global market opportunity in this space is significant, and there is real potential for the founding team at Klearcom to build a rapidly scaling business in the Southeast region. We look forward to supporting the company in the execution and delivery of this growth plan.”
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