Circeus extends acquisition spree with Dondy, scaling AI agents to turn conversations into revenue — TFN

Companies have spent the previous few years bolting collectively separate instruments for buyer assist, electronic mail advertising, SMS, and reside chat. 

Circeus‘s newest acquisition consolidates lots of these capabilities into an all-in-one conversational commerce platform working throughout WhatsApp, Instagram, Fb and web site chat. 

The London-based AI-native holding firm has acquired Dondy, an all-in-one conversational commerce platform utilized by greater than 70,000 companies globally. Dondy will now be a part of Store Circle, Circeus’s agentic commerce software program division.

The way it all works

“Regardless of WhatsApp’s huge attain, most companies have traditionally handled it primarily as a messaging or customer-support channel moderately than a completely built-in commerce channel. AI is more and more making it attainable to show instruments that carry out duties into programs that ship outcomes, and that’s the mannequin we’re making use of throughout our portfolio,” Luca Cartechini, co-founder and CEO of Circeus tells Tech Funding Information. 

In follow, Dondy’s AI brokers sit inside buyer conversations throughout its supported channels. A buyer would possibly obtain an off-the-cuff reminder for gadgets left of their cart, or a discover on supply timing. Over time, Dondy is designed to deal with full duties, comparable to finishing a purchase order or resolving a return, prompted by the shopper within the chat thread.

The expertise is already reside in manufacturing: Dondy’s AI brokers promote and assist prospects for 1000’s of retailers at this time, and 70% of conversations for retailers utilizing the brokers are dealt with and resolved finish to finish by AI.

Importantly, a consumer can ask Dondy any query and it’ll present a tailor-made reply, moderately than a scripted reply. It operates across the clock and operates in a number of languages, so a service provider’s WhatsApp presence isn’t restricted by the hours and language obstacles of a assist crew.

“We’re excited to hitch Circeus. We consider that collectively we are able to develop Dondy 10x within the coming years, studying, bettering and turning into extra environment friendly via collaboration with the group’s enterprise models and firms. Along with Circeus we are able to proceed our dream: to construct one of many central platforms in commerce, serving to manufacturers develop and function extra effectively with AI,” the co-founders of Dondy, Tamir Or, Or Schreiber and Inbal Katz inform Tech Funding Information.

$100m in orders, and barely scratching the floor 

Dondy already routes over $100 million in annual service provider orders and greater than one million buyer conversations a yr via WhatsApp. With a worldwide consumer base above 3 billion, the amount on WhatsApp represents a small fraction of a channel most Western commerce software program nonetheless treats as secondary to electronic mail and SMS.

Dondy at present holds the highest App Retailer rating in Shopify’s “WhatsApp” and “WhatsApp Advertising and marketing” classes.

Circeus’ roadmap deliberately pushes towards software program that may act moderately than simply help. 

As an alternative of retailers drafting campaigns and replying to tickets, Dondy is supposed to run these widespread workflows autonomously. Over time, the platform is meant to deal with buyer interactions finish to finish throughout each channel, together with electronic mail, TikTok, Telegram and any new channel that emerges. 

These duties embody however usually are not restricted to recovering deserted carts, re-engaging dormant prospects, and pushing upsells inside a reside dialog, with out a individual approving every step. Dondy delivers AI via the channels retailers already use, sparing them from adopting a brand new instrument from scratch. 

Becoming the Circeus playbook

The acquisition tracks a sample that Circeus has repeated throughout its portfolio. 

The holding firm searches for software program that companies can’t reside with out, after which gives AI augmentation to propel the enterprise additional. This method mirrors why Circeus acquired doc automation supplier Encodian earlier this month. Encodian was already a class chief embedded in a extensively used ecosystem moderately than competing to construct attain from zero.

Circeus not too long ago closed new equity funding from the EBRD and different traders and has greater than $100m out there to deploy. A number of acquisitions of mission-critical software program, to be developed with AI, are set to finish over the approaching months. 

Circeus’ skilled AI groups will layer further AI capabilities throughout Dondy’s product and processes, rising effectivity and strengthening its place as an AI-native firm. 

Dondy now plugs into the group’s shared AI platform and engineering muscle, and inherits playbooks on product, pricing, and operations which have already been examined elsewhere within the portfolio. Dondy will proceed to be supported by its present crew and, more and more by Circeus’s broader inner platform and central AI crew. 

Circeus will now assist evolve Dondy’s confirmed AI brokers into totally autonomous gross sales, assist and advertising brokers, all steered by a unified AI layer. Enhanced automation beneath the hood will likely be a precedence, together with tighter integrations and a broader AI-native commerce platform in a position to handle the shopper journey finish to finish.

This text is produced in a content material partnership with Circeus.