Waterford firm secures funding for US expansion
Waterford software firm Klearstream has announced plans to expand to the US hiring an additional 30 people after securing €800,000 in a fresh funding round led by DBIC Ventures.
The company operates in the rapidly growing interactive voice response (IVR) assurance market. Companies with large customer bases use IVR systems to route and prioritise incoming calls. Klearcom automates tests for organisations to ensure their interactions with customers are maintained. The company's customers include a number of pharmaceutical and technology companies.
The new funding will allow Klearcom to open an office in the US next year to target large domestic US firms in addition to its Waterford HQ and a satellite office in Ahmedabad, India. As it expands, Klearcom expects to grow to a team of more than 50 by the end of 2023.
The roles, the majority of which will be Waterford-based, will be in areas including sales, R&D, machine learning, AI and operations.
DBIC Ventures led the investment round by contributing €300,000 from its early-stage fund. Launched in 2019, the fund will invest in up to 30 highly scalable, export-focused Irish software and MedTech companies by year-end 2024. Other contributors were the Halo Business Angel Network (€250K) and Enterprise Ireland (€250K).
"The speed at which technology – and therefore customer expectations – is evolving has meant that customer experience is a huge focus for businesses," Liam Dunne, co-founder and CEO, Klearcom, said. "Yet they have a blind spot when it comes to IVR performance and as a result, they are losing valuable customers. Klearcom replicates the customer experience and raises a flag when there is an issue."
"The IVR testing market is saturated by companies using legacy infrastructure. We are a young competitor and have the agility required to relentlessly innovate and bring one-of-a-kind services to the market."
Niall McEvoy, manager, Enterprise Ireland High Potential Start-Up Unit, said: “Klearcom is an innovative regionally-based technology start-up that has demonstrated from the outset an ability to bring its solution to an international customer base.
"The global market opportunity in this space is significant, and there is real potential for the founding team at Klearcom to build a rapidly scaling business in the Southeast region. We look forward to supporting the company in the execution and delivery of this growth plan.”
Colm O’Sullivan, Partner, DBIC Ventures, said: “Klearcom’s unique offering and strong focus on cutting-edge technology makes it an exciting player in the global IVR testing market. As an export-focused software company, which is already operating at scale serving customers globally, it is an obvious fit for DBIC Ventures.
Reporting: The Irish Examiner