CleverTap
{{Short description|American company}}
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CleverTap is a California-based SaaS company that sells customer lifecycle management and mobile marketing services. The company was established in May 2013, and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.{{cite web |last1=Sahay |first1=Priyanka |title=CleverTap to raise $20 million from existing, new investors |url=http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/startup/clevertap-to-raise-20-million-from-existing-new-investors-2281631.html |accessdate=12 December 2017 |website=Money Control |date=17 May 2017 |publisher=e-Eighteen.com Ltd}} CleverTap's platform is built on a database that claims to optimize speed and scalability.{{Cite web |title=Retention Cloud Leader CleverTap Unveils TesseractDB™ |url=https://clevertap.com/news/press-release/retention-cloud-leader-clevertap-unveils-tesseractdb/ |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=CleverTap |date=7 June 2022 |language=en}}
History
CleverTap was founded by Sunil Thomas, Suresh Kondamudi, and Anand Jain, who were colleagues at Network 18.{{cite web|last1=Abudheen K|first1=Sainul|title=Success is a moving target: CleverTap Co-founder Anand Jain|url=https://e27.co/success-moving-target-clevertap-co-founder-anand-jain-20170215/|website=E27|publisher=Entrepreneurs 27|accessdate=12 December 2017}} The company was established in May 2013 and the product was privately launched in September 2015 and publicly listed 3 months later. At the same time, the company changed its trading name from WizRocket to CleverTap. Sidharth Malik was employed as its global CEO in December 2021.{{Cite web |title=Building a world-class company |url=https://clevertap.com/blog/building-a-world-class-company/ |access-date=2022-05-14 |website=CleverTap |date=18 November 2021 |language=en}}
In May 2022, CleverTap announced the acquisition of Leanplum, a mobile marketing vendor originating from Bulgaria and based in San Francisco. While the price of the acquisition has not been disclosed, the company stated the funds were cash and stock transactions that were funded by internal accruals and CleverTap stock. The acquisition is set to aid with CleverTap's global objective of providing development centers and customer-facing teams across North America, Europe, Latin America, India, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, with an estimated total customer base of 1,300 customers.{{cite journal|date=20 May 2022|url=https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/20/leanplum-acquired-by-clevertap-as-retention-marketing-platforms-consolidate/|title=Leanplum acquired by CleverTap as retention marketing platforms consolidate|journal=Tech Crunch|access-date=20 May 2022}}
Funding
The company secured seed funding of USD 1.9 million from Accel in July 2014.{{cite web|last1=Pai|first1=Vivek|title=WizRocket secures $8M from Sequoia and Accel Partners|url=https://www.medianama.com/2015/08/223-wizrocket-8million-funding/|website=MediaNama|date=4 August 2015 |publisher=Mixed Bag Media Pvt. Ltd.|accessdate=12 December 2017}} Additional Series A funding of US$8 million was secured from Accel and Sequoia Capital in August 2015.
In October 2017, the company secured an additional US$6 million{{Cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1613570/000161357017000001/xslFormDX01/primary_doc.xml|title=SEC FORM D 2017|website=Securities and Exchange Commission}} from existing and new investors at RSP India Fund, an investment subsidiary of Recruit Holdings.{{cite web|title=Japan – Recruit Holdings Q2 Revenue Up 11%, Growth Boosted By Staffing And HR Technology Segments|url=https://www2.staffingindustry.com/row/Editorial/Daily-News/Japan-Recruit-Holdings-Q2-revenue-up-11-growth-boosted-by-staffing-and-HR-technology-segments-44117|website=Staffing Industry Analysts|publisher=Crain Communications Inc|accessdate=12 December 2017}}{{cite web|title=Recruit : Invests in WizRocket, Inc., Developer of Mobile Marketing Platform "CleverTap"|url=http://www.4-traders.com/news/Recruit-Invests-in-WizRocket-Inc-Developer-of-Mobile-Marketing-Platform-CleverTap--25395966/|website=4-traders.com|publisher=Surperformance|accessdate=12 December 2017}}
In April 2019, CleverTap raised US$26 million in Series B investment from Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global Management, and Accel.{{Cite web|url=https://clevertap.com/blog/series-b-investment-announcement/|title=CleverTap Receives Series B Investment of $26M to Accelerate AI/ML-driven Marketing Innovations|website=CleverTap|date=10 April 2019 |language=en|access-date=2019-04-14}}
In October 2019, CleverTap announced its Series C investment of US$35 million led by Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global Management, bringing the total investment to just over US$77 million.{{Cite web|url=https://clevertap.com/blog/series-c-funded/|title=Series C Funded, On to Our Global Go-To-Market Strategy|website=CleverTap|date=15 October 2019 |language=en|access-date=2019-12-07}} CleverTap announced it raised $105 million in a Series D funding round. The round was led by global investment firm CDPQ, which committed $75 million, and saw participation from IIFL AMC's Tech Fund, as well as existing investors Tiger Global and Sequoia India.{{cite news |title=CleverTap raises $105 million in Series D funding. |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/clevertap-raises-105-million-in-series-d-funding/articleshow/93475944.cms|publisher=Times of India |date=10 August 2022}}
Awards and recognition
In 2017, TiE Silicon Valley included CleverTap in its list of TiE50, World's 50 Most Promising Technology Startups.{{cite web|title=2017 TiE50 Winenrs|url=http://www.tie50.net/TiE50Awards2017/TiE50_Winners_2017.asp|website=TiE50 Awards Program|publisher=TiE Silicon Valley|accessdate=12 December 2017}} Sunil Thomas, CEO of the company, was named as one of the 25 Marketing Technology Trailblazers in 2017 by Advertising Age.{{cite web|title=Introducing Ad Age's 25 Marketing Technology Trailblazers 2017|url=http://www.adageindia.in/digital/introducing-ad-ages-25-marketing-technology-trailblazers-2017/articleshow/58222907.cms|website=AdAge India|publisher=Advertising Age|accessdate=12 December 2017}}
In 2021, CleverTap was recognized as one of Forbes’ Best Startup Employers in America for the second consecutive year.{{Cite web|title=CleverTap Named One of Forbes' Best Startup Employers 2021 {{!}} CleverTap|date=9 March 2021 |url=https://clevertap.com/news/press-release/clevertap-in-forbes-best-startup-employers-2021/|access-date=2021-04-10|language=en}}
In 2022, the company was awarded the Breakout SaaS Startup of the Year{{Cite web |title=Retention Cloud Leader CleverTap Recognized as the "Breakout SaaS Startup of the Year" at SaaSBOOMi Awards 2021 {{!}} CleverTap |date=26 April 2022 |url=https://clevertap.com/news/press-release/retention-cloud-leader-clevertap-recognized-as-the-breakout-saas-startup-of-the-year-at-saasboomi-awards-2021/ |access-date=2022-05-14 |language=en}} by SaaSBOOMi, a community of SaaS founders and product builders shaping India's SaaS industry. That same year, it was also included in the G2 list of best software sellers.{{Cite web |title=CleverTap Named a Leader in G2's Spring 2022 Report for Mobile Marketing and Multiple Other Categories |url=https://clevertap.com/blog/clevertap-named-a-leader-in-g2s-spring-2022-report/ |access-date=2022-05-14 |website=CleverTap |date=19 April 2022 |language=en}}
Also in 2022, CleverTap was selected as one of India’s Great Mid-size Workplaces by Great Place To Work.{{Cite web |title=CleverTap Recognized by Great Place to Work Among India's Great Mid-size Workplaces |url=https://clevertap.com/news/press-release/clevertap-recognized-by-great-place-to-work-among-indias-great-mid-size-workplaces/ |access-date=2022-06-27 |website=CleverTap |date=24 June 2022 |language=en}} That same year, CleverTap was named a Leader in the Mobile Marketing category in the summer reports by G2 for the 12th time in a row.{{Cite web |title=CleverTap Recognized as a Leader in G2's Summer 2022 Report for Mobile Marketing. |url=https://clevertap.com/blog/clevertap-recognized-as-a-leader-in-g2s-summer-2022-report-for-mobile-marketing/ |access-date=2022-08-22 |website=CleverTap |date=14 July 2022 |language=en}} In the G2 Fall 2022 report, the company was named a global Leader in the Mobile Marketing category as well as a Momentum Leader, Leader for Asia and India regions, and Leaders in the Mid-Market and Small Business segments.{{Cite web |title=G2 Fall 2022 Reports: CleverTap Recognized as Leader in Mobile Marketing and Personalization |url=https://clevertap.com/blog/g2-fall-2022-report-clevertap-leader-mobile-marketing/ |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=CleverTap |date=23 September 2022 |language=en}}
In October 2022, the website Tracxn identified the company as a 'Soonicorn' — a startup on the verge of achieving 'unicorn' status.{{Cite web |title=Emerging Startups 2022: Top Marketing Tech Startups |url=https://tracxn.com/d/emerging-startups/top-marketingtech-startups-2022#CleverTap |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007160810/https://tracxn.com/d/emerging-startups/top-marketingtech-startups-2022#CleverTap |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 7, 2022 |access-date=2022-10-07 |website=Tracxn |language=en}}