Boston-based company Klaviyo began as an e-commerce analytics service. It eventually evolved to compete as an email service provider, against the likes of Constant Contact and Mailchimp. The company has benefited from the edge given by its deeper, more comprehensive focus on data.
It’s no secret that e-commerce is booming as the market grows at an astounding rate. The market grew 42% in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, and estimates show that online spending in the U.S. will surpass $1 trillion by 2022.
Now, Klaviyo has become the standard by which email marketers are judged today, as the company surpasses its competitors in how it helps marketers personalize and automate their email messaging to customers. For one, it doesn’t leave a watermark stating it was sent on behalf of the company, a feature its competitors don’t offer.
Klaviyo's software integrates with prominent ecommerce platforms like Shopify, Magento, BigCommerce, Stripe, and WooCommerce. With a client base that has doubled over the past 12 months, the company now serves over 70,000 paying customers.
As the company has expanded its offerings to include SMS and benchmarking, the platform now acts as an infrastructure for businesses or organizations to deliver personalized experiences at scale through software.
This month, Klaviyo announced that it has raised a $320 million Series D round of funding. In addition to the company's $200 million Series C financing in November 2020, this new financing puts the company’s valuation at $9.15 billion. This latest round was led by new investor, Sands Capital. Other new investors in the platform include Counterpoint Global (Morgan Stanley), Whale Rock Capital Management, ClearBridge Investments, Lone Pine Capital, Owl Rock Capital, Glynn Capital, and Keith Block (former co-CEO of Salesforce), with participation from existing investors Accel and Summit Partners.
Klaviyo plans to use the latest funding to expand through product development, increased marketing and sales, and expansion into new international regions and verticals. The company also plans to hire 500 more employees this year. The funding will allow the company more flexibility to evaluate other opportunities that align with its mission and vision for the future.
