Insider, the marketing platform for delivering individualized, cross-channel customer experiences, has announced an investment of up to $105 million from existing investors, QIA — whose portfolio of companies includes Volkswagen and Barclays — and Esas Private Equity.
With the latest investment, Sequoia-backed, Insider’s total funding amount reaches $274 million.
Recognized as a #1 industry leader in the cross-channel marketing and customer experience space, by analyst firms like Gartner, Forrester, and IDC. Insider has also recently been named the #6 Best Software Company in the world, according to G2. This latest investment will be used exclusively to accelerate Insider’s M&A-focused strategy, to build upon the company’s existing technology and capabilities.
The move will substantially benefit the company’s operations in MEA & India, specifically helping its customers, which include the region’s best-loved brands like, Samsung, Arab National Bank, and Vogacloset to reach unparalleled heights of customer experience excellence.
“This injection of $105 million is designated for the acquisition of companies in United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Kuwait, Qatar, India, Pakistan and further afield. It will be a game-changer for us, especially since MEA is one of our most strategic markets,” says Ajish Pillai, Commercial Director based in Insider’s Dubai office.
“This investment opens up countless opportunities for strategic acquisitions right here in MEA & India, and we are actively looking to hire the best local talent the industry has to offer, as we grow our team and create more jobs. With this substantial financial backing, we can fuel product innovation by acquiring companies with industry-leading solutions, to help marketing and ecommerce leaders, drive more value and growth from their customer experience initiatives.”
Earlier in the year, Insider announced impressive growth in MEA, India & Pakistan since launching operations on the ground 8 years ago. Having previously focused on growing via organic means — with notable client wins including Jarir, Apparel Group, ITC India, KOJ and My Aster.
Insider CEO and Co-Founder, Hande Cilingir, explains, “At Insider, we have successfully achieved hyper-growth via organic means, until now. Now, we are looking to achieve unparalleled levels of growth with an M&A-focused strategy. These funds will be used exclusively for the purpose of acquiring exceptional product companies in MEA, including United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Kuwait, Qatar, India to further complement our technology and create product synergies. Unlike our $121 million Series D investment in 2022, which has bolstered our capital reserves for operational spending in the coming years, this latest round will specifically serve to fuel inorganic growth through M&A.”
Cilingir added, “The response from the market, and our customers, following Insider’s acquisition of MindBehind, earlier this year, has increased our appetite to explore further opportunities to acquire unique organizations with industry-first technologies to better serve our customers, drive more value, and source innovative solutions to marketers’ biggest frustrations and challenges.”
Outside of MEA, Insider continues to grow rapidly in every corner of the globe and now boasts over 1,200 customers, including 1/3 of the Fortune Global 500 and some of the world’s best-loved brands, including Singapore Airlines, Estée Lauder, Samsung, Vodafone, Allianz, Virgin, Toyota, New Balance, IKEA, GAP, L’Oreal, Santander, BBVA, Pizza Hut, Newsweek, Nissan, AVIS, MAC, Marks & Spencer, Avon, and CNN.
Insider is a single platform for building individualized, cross-channel experiences—enables enterprise marketers to connect customer data across channels and systems, predict their future behavior with an AI intent engine, and build individualized customer experiences. Marketers use Insider’s platform to deliver consistent and engaging experiences across Web, App, Web Push, Email, SMS, WhatsApp Commerce, and more.
