Ably Raises $70M to Empower Realtime Features for Developers

Ably Secures $70 Million in Series B Funding

Ably is a messaging platform based on the Pub/Sub model, enabling companies to integrate realtime capabilities into their applications. Recently, the company completed a $70 million Series B funding round, led jointly by Insight Partners and Dawn Capital.

The Importance of Realtime Data

Realtime data transmission is now a standard expectation for users across numerous applications. Whether it's sending messages, collaborating on documents, participating in video conferences, or accessing financial information, users anticipate near-instantaneous data exchange.

Any noticeable delay can disrupt the user experience, making the application feel unresponsive. This demand for immediacy has driven the development of technologies like Pub/Sub.

Understanding Pub/Sub

The Pub/Sub (publish-subscribe) system is a widely adopted method for creating realtime features. In this architecture, data is both published and received through shared channels.

Users establish realtime connections to these channels, indicating their desire to receive new messages routed through them. When a new message is published, it is swiftly delivered to all subscribers – ideally within milliseconds.

How it Compares to Push Notifications

Push notifications on smartphones operate on a similar principle. However, these notifications ultimately rely on the infrastructure provided by companies like Google and Apple.

While several platform-as-a-service providers offer realtime capabilities, including Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud, Ably believes its technology offers a superior solution for building a dedicated, API-driven realtime platform.

Investment Details

In addition to Insight Partners and Dawn Capital, existing investors – including Triple Point, Digital Horizon, Forward Partners, and MMC – also contributed to this funding round.

Addressing Customer Pain Points

According to co-founder and CEO Matthew O’Riordan, Ably’s customers often face challenges with existing realtime solutions. These issues can range from inadequate scalability to the need for integrating multiple services.

For example, HubSpot, a CRM and marketing platform, initially struggled with the realtime functionality of its chat feature. After implementing Ably, they expanded its use to encompass all their products, including analytics and live updates.

Ably’s Global Infrastructure

Ably has invested in a global network of data centers to optimize message routing and minimize latency. This approach mirrors the strategies employed by content delivery networks (CDNs).

The network is designed for both redundancy and reliability, featuring self-healing capabilities to ensure continuous operation even if a data center experiences downtime.

Features and Client Base

Furthermore, Ably offers message queuing for offline users, enabling the delivery of messages when they reconnect. Current clients include Hopin, Bloomberg, Verizon, and Tennis Australia.

The company also serves significant customers in the social media sector, though some client names remain confidential. Pricing is based on usage metrics such as message volume, concurrent connections, and channel count.

Growth and Future Plans

Currently, Ably’s platform reaches approximately 250 million devices monthly, supported by a team of 65 employees. The new funding will facilitate the hiring of an additional 125 employees by the end of 2022.

Ably’s long-term goal is to become a foundational infrastructure provider, essential to the seamless operation of everyday services. The company aims to establish itself as the go-to network for delivering messages quickly and reliably between any two points.