SOUTH AFRICA – Cue, a customer service startup, has successfully concluded its seed funding round, securing US$2 million from angel investors to improve and deepen AI integration on its customer service platform as well as support its growth and expansion plans.
The new funding follows the US$500,000 in pre-seed funding it secured in October 2023 to enhance its mission of improving customer service by harnessing the potential of cutting-edge large language models (LLM), and an additional US$1.5 million this year to finalize a US$2 million raise.
Cue has also made leadership changes. Rhett Trickett takes on the role of Chief Product Officer (CPO), Ryan Egnos assumes the position of Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), and Richard Nischk continues to lead as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Founded in 2018, Cue enables businesses to help customers quickly and efficiently with chatbots and live chat on WhatsApp and social channels. The startup has worked with over 300 clients in the last five years.
Cue has been making waves with its customer service chat software, streamlining business-customer interactions and redefining the efficiency of customer service solutions. Fueled by the burgeoning demand for streamlined and effective customer support, Cue’s AI-driven approach empowers businesses to provide personalized, proactive support in real-time.
The result is heightened customer satisfaction, enhanced loyalty, and an overall enriched customer experience. Last year, Cue expanded its operations to the UK, and this funding round marks another significant milestone in its growth trajectory.
The startup aims to provide fast, seamless, and personalized customer service experiences for businesses, as well as reduce communication wait times.
So far, Cue has driven a 160% sales conversion for Mancosa and a 13% and 7% increase in response rate for AutoZone and Richfield respectively.
Additionally, the startup has helped King Price Insurance reach a 77% return on investment by automating insurance quotes on WhatsApp. For Affinity Health, it helped reduce customer service costs by 73%.
The US$2 million infusion will play a crucial role in propelling Cue’s mission to deepen AI integration within its customer service suite.
This strategic move aligns with the industry’s evolving landscape, where businesses seek innovative solutions to automate routine customer inquiries, harness data analytics for superior support performance, and gain insightful metrics to optimize customer engagement strategies.
“We are thrilled to have secured US$2 million in funding, which will enable us to take Cue to the next level and another big step forward towards our next milestone,” Richard Nischk, CEO of Cue, said.
He emphasized the transformative impact of the investment, stating that it will fuel Cue’s commitment to delivering cutting-edge AI-powered solutions that reshape the global customer service landscape.
AI is seeing gradual adoption in Africa. In 2024, the AI market in Africa is projected to reach US$6.9 billion and US$18.3 billion by 2030, according to Techpoint.
Recently, Ghanaian digital freight forwarder Jetstream Africa launched an artificial intelligence-enabled platform, Jetvision.ai, for cross-border trade in Africa.
Meanwhile, in Kenya, the AI bill is already a buzz, seeking to establish the Kenya Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Society, for the regulation of the use of robotics, AI, and the Internet of Things (IoT).
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