Webio, conversational AI specialists in the credit, collections and payments industry, announced that it has received €500k investment from Finch Capital to complete €1.5m in pre-series A funding.
Webio says that the funding will go straight into deepening its’ capabilities in conversational AI, doubling the R&D team, and expanding the sales and customer success teams to address the market demand.
Mike Brennen from Finch Capital, said:
“The credit and collections industry is ripe for disruption, its approach to its customers is outdated and the sector has been overlooked for far too long.”
“It’s an extremely large market which is set for significant growth, and we believe that as a specialist in this space, Webio is extremely well-positioned to lead the industry in a new direction where customer engagement across the debt cycle is a positive experience.”
Webio came in at second place on the Deloitte Technology 50 list and operates in the conversational AI market that is expected to grow to €11bn by 2024. Webio’s current customers have been predominantly in the Irish and UK markets but it has secured several key partnerships in Europe and the USA, laying the foundations for future growth.
The firm has also been recognised with a series of awards for innovation in customer experience in conjunction with leading brands Snap Finance and Oplo and The Very Group. Webio’s conversational messaging is extremely successful, up to three times more efficient at reaching and engaging with customers than chat solutions alone. It’s also five times more efficient than traditional dialing systems.
Cormac O’Neill, CEO and Co-Founder of Webio, said:
“Businesses are moving from simple telephone systems to chat, messaging, and now to intelligent assistants. We will not only help customers with service issues but also help them execute transactions and make more informed choices. Buy now pay later (BNPL) and embedded finance are two new high growth areas that we are seeing significant traction in.”
“This investment is another step in our strategic development plans to fundamentally change how this sector works. Conversations about money are hard, they can be difficult to understand, and they can be stressful. We believe that the industry is poised for change and that Webio will deliver a future where these difficult conversations are made easier and managed better.”
