MENLO PARK, Calif., April 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Astound, an enterprise software company that uses AI to re-imagine and improve employee service, today announced the close of $15.5 million in Series B financing. The round was led by March Capital Partners, with participation from previous investors Vertex Ventures, Pelion Venture Partners, Moment Ventures, and the Slack Fund. Also announced today are several significant growth milestones, including more than doubling customer count in the past year across key sectors, and partnerships with some of the industry’s leading managed service providers and system integrators. This recent round brings the total investment raised by Astound to $27 million.
Astound streamlines the way employees receive support and service teams resolve issues, enabling agents at large enterprise companies to solve problems faster and more accurately to minimize employee downtime. Astound’s AI platform for employee service adds a layer of intelligence to existing service management systems including ServiceNow, BMC, Jira, Cherwell, Workday and others. In addition to automating routine requests and tasks with virtual support agents, Astound improves accuracy across the service cycle by making live agents smarter with contextual recommendations.
“We invest in bold entrepreneurs pursuing big outcomes with the potential for explosive growth, and Astound delivers on all fronts. While the customer service industry has begun to capitalize on the promise of AI, only Astound has extended this potential to deliver the fastest and most intelligent employee customer service,” said Sumant Mandal, Managing Director of March Capital. “We see Astound as becoming the key to unlocking the potential for enterprises to link efficient internal support with increased employee satisfaction and productivity, better business outcomes, and higher profitability across the enterprise.”
In addition to more than doubling its customer count in the past year, Astound has partnered with leading managed service providers and system integrators to meet growing market demand. “We are constantly searching for the latest innovative technologies and new ways to solve problems for our customers,” said Yogesh Khanna, Chief Technology Officer for General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT). “Our work with Astound showcases how artificial intelligence and machine learning can provide new solutions for federal employees, soldiers and veterans. We look forward to hosting Astound at our upcoming GDIT Emerge conference on April 23 and highlighting their value in the federal market.”
One of the world’s leading providers of insurance services recently deployed the Astound AI platform and is benefiting from reduced call volume, lower cost per ticket, and reduced mean time to resolve issues. According to the firm’s Senior IT Director, “we’re committed to providing the best possible experience for our employees when they have technology questions or issues. AI-driven automation from Astound is a big part of how we’re reducing wait times and providing better answers. We evaluated many other solutions but only Astound understands employee service and can deliver AI-driven automation at the scale required to meet the needs of our customers.”
The Astound AI platform uses a combination of machine learning and natural language processing to automate IT and HR service and support. Astound’s technology finds the best answer wherever it lives across the enterprise – whether in email, shared databases, spreadsheets, web content or other repositories. Only Astound follows the lifecycle of service requests with applications for employees, live agents, and service owners.
“We’re proud to be introducing the future of work to the world’s most-respected organizations. Every service provider will soon deliver exceptional employee experiences using AI-driven automation,” said Dan Turchin, Astound co-founder and Chief Product Officer. “We’re using this investment to accelerate innovation and hire the best talent. This team is ambitious, hungry, and committed to making work life better for every employee who has ever called the help desk.”
Demand for enterprise AI solutions continues to accelerate at a record pace. A recent McKinsey Study finds that 70 percent of companies will have adopted at least one AI solution by 2030 and those solutions will contribute up to $120Bin global GDP. According to Valerie O’Connell, Research Director at EMA who named Astound a “Vendor to Watch,”“Astound’s AI platform for employee service sets a high bar for virtual agents and service automation.”
Astound has been selected as an exhibiting company at Knowledge ’19, the annual conference hosted by ServiceNow focused on unlocking productivity and transforming employee and customer experiences. The conference will be held from May 5-9 at the Venetian and Sands. To connect with Astound and its executives at the conference, go to Booth E17 or click here to read more about Astound’s presence at the event this year.