Sequoia Capital India has backed Singapore-based Insider as part of the software-as-a-service (SaaS) company's new round of funding.
Insider said it has raised $32 million (about Rs 240 crore) as part of its Series C round led by US-based private equity firm Riverwood Capital.
Wamda, the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region's venture capital firm, and Endeavour Catalyst, a US-based co-investment vehicle, also participated in the funding round.
Hande Cilingir, CEO and co-founder of Insider, said that as a profitable company it did not want to raise capital too soon but continued to receive strong inbound interest from venture capital firms. The startup has raised $47 million so far.
Insider will use the fresh capital to upgrade its AI-powered platform and boost its global sales and marketing efforts.
The Singapore-based company was founded in 2012 by Cilingir, Serhat Soyuerel (vice-president of growth), Arda Köterin (vice-president of customer success), Sinan Toktay (chief technology officer), Okan Yedibela (vice-president of engineering) and Muharrem Derinkök (vice-president of product).
Insider's platform helps enterprise marketers to connect customer data across channels and systems, predict clients’ behaviour, and orchestrate and deliver individualised experiences.
The startup has teams in 24 countries. It has worked with brands including Singapore Airlines, Marks & Spencer, Virgin, Samsung and Carrefour.
Pieter Kemps, principal, Sequoia Capital (India) Singapore, said that the quality of customer interactions, combined with product and technology, has enabled Insider to stand out.
Sequoia's Southeast Asia bets
In 2012, Sequoia established a presence in Southeast Asia. Its investments there include Go-Jek, Tokopedia and Traveloka, which now rank among Indonesia's largest unicorns.
Last month, Sequoia along with Lightspeed invested in Indonesian startup Ula, a marketplace platform that focuses on modernising distribution and credit processes in the traditional retail sector.
Earlier this month, VCCircle reported that Sequoia had raised a record corpus for India and Southeast Asia investments. It, however, did not specify the amount it intended to pump into the Southeast Asian nations.
