Voximplant, a New York-based cloud communication company, plans to raise a Series C round of capital in the first half of 2022 to accelerate growth, according to CEO Alexey Aylarov.
The company will look to raise at least USD 30m, with proceeds largely funding geographic expansion in the US, Aylarov said. Voximplant was originally formed in Moscow and Russia is still its largest market. The company entered the US in 2017 and roughly 15% of revenue now comes from the states, the CEO noted.
To support its plans, Aylarov said Voximplant is seeking an accounting firm specialized in international financial reports.
Voximplant’s platform allows companies to add communication features such as voice, text and video chat to their web and mobile apps.
The company generated approximately USD 25m in annual recurring revenue (ARR) last year, compared to slightly more than USD 20m in 2019, according to Aylarov. It is aiming to reach ARR of USD 100m within three to five years.
The business could be profitable but is reinvesting in growth. Its gross margin is roughly 60%, the CEO said.
Voximplant is projecting growth of 60% this year. The company could have grown faster amid the pandemic but was unable to hire fast enough for demand, Aylarov explained. Its cloud-based contact center platform software was particularly sought after, especially among companies that went remote but still required contact center solutions, he noted.
To date, Voximplant has raised USD 11m in outside capital, most recently completing a USD 10m Series B in December 2019. Investors include Baring Vostok Capital Partners and RTP Ventures.
Voximplant was founded in 2011 as Zingaya by Aylarov; Sergey Poroshin, head of sales; and Andrey Kovalenko, chief technology officer. The three co-founders, all in their mid-30s, own the majority stake in the business.
Aylarov said Voximplant competitors include other cloud communication developers such as Twilio, Vonage Holdings, Sinch and Agora.
Agora raised USD 350m in a mid-2020 IPO, with its shares increasing close to 150% on its first day of trading. Investor interest and sector multiples remain high, Aylarov said, pointing to the October announcement that MessageBird raised a USD 200m Series C round at a USD 3bn valuation.
According to Aylarov, multiples in the space typically average around 10x-15x revenue for healthy companies, though some players, such as Twilio, are trading at more than 30x revenue.
Voximplant has more than 30,000 customers in six countries. It handles more than one billion calls per year and caters primarily to fast-growing start-ups and the on-demand delivery and transportation, and financial technology markets, Aylarov said. Larger customers include Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King, Hyundai, S7 Airlines, Home Credit Bank and 8x8.
Part of the proceeds from the Series C will support sales and marketing, and product development, particularly around artificial intelligence, the CEO noted.
Voximplant has approximately 175 employees and an office in Moscow.
The company works with Gerry Murfitt of law firm Venture Counsel Partners.
-----------------
Mergermarket (mergermarket.com) is the leading provider of forward-looking M&A intelligence and data to investment banks, private equity firms, lenders, law firms, accounting firms and corporates around the world. Our parent company, ION Group, is the largest global provider of trading, analytics and risk management solutions for capital markets.
