The increasing need for social distancing due to COVID-19 has led to a surge in the use of online services, significantly impacting digital customer service operations. These services are now experiencing unprecedented levels of activity and demand, particularly when issues arise. Today, a company offering a unique and proactive solution to this challenge is announcing a new funding round to facilitate growth.

Glia has developed a platform that not only consolidates and manages various customer support channels but also equips agents with the ability to proactively assist customers directly within their applications or web browsers, helping them locate information or resolve problems. The company is announcing a $78 million Series C funding round. Dan Michaeli, co-founder and CEO, who is located in New York (with a significant presence in Estonia), stated that the funds will be allocated to further technological development and expansion to meet the growing interest in their services, following a 150% revenue increase in 2020.

Initially focused on the financial services sector, Glia has established a substantial customer base within that industry. However, the company is also witnessing increased adoption in related fields such as insurance, education, retail, and other sectors, according to Michaeli.

“We are experiencing exceptionally high demand, and it’s remarkable to see the eagerness of businesses to implement our solutions,” he commented. “Our strategy centers on substantial scaling and continued innovation to satisfy the evolving requirements of digital customer service.” The company is also anticipated to utilize a portion of the funding for strategic acquisitions within a rapidly evolving market.

Insight Partners is leading the funding round, with participation from Don Brown, a customer service industry veteran whose company, Interactive Intelligence, was acquired by Genesys for $1.4 billion.

While Glia has not disclosed all investors, previous backers include Tola Capital, Temerity Capital, Grassy Creek and Wildcat Capital, in addition to Insight. Before this round, the company, founded in 2012 and formerly known as SaleMove, had raised $28 million, with a valuation of $69 million as reported by PitchBook data (and the current valuation remains undisclosed).

The customer service technology market is currently experiencing significant growth, with numerous startups attracting substantial investment and some companies undergoing consolidation as they acquire technologies to enhance their customer service capabilities. (Notably, Facebook acquired omnichannel customer support and CRM provider Kustomer for $1 billion in November.)

Glia, like many emerging companies in this space, concentrates on providing a platform for managing and interacting with customers across all digital channels. Interestingly, “Glia” translates to “glue” in Greek.

What distinguishes Glia is its innovative approach to user engagement. A key feature is the ability for agents to access a user’s screen, both to guide them through the interface and to observe their actions in real-time.

It’s important to note that this connection and screen tracking occur with the user’s full awareness. A demonstration of the service revealed a seamless experience, reminiscent of assistance features like Clippy in Microsoft Word.

In addition to this capability, Glia provides agents with tools to refine their communication, offering suggested questions, phrasing options, and links to relevant answers. The company also develops virtual customer service assistants to handle simpler inquiries. These assistants can also interact with users’ screens during contact, effectively integrating various technologies – from natural language processing to suggest and, in some cases, automate customer service responses, to computer vision for screen analysis, and fundamental CRM technology for cross-platform service delivery.

While screen sharing is common in areas like remote collaboration and online presentations, Glia is recognized as a pioneer in applying this technology to customer service. This innovation is a key factor attracting investor interest.

“We are pleased to increase our investment in Glia as they continue to revolutionize Digital Customer Service for businesses globally,” stated Lonne Jaffe, managing director at Insight Partners. “Glia’s platform delivers the modern technology needed for businesses to connect with customers throughout their digital experiences and communicate through their preferred channels. This funding will enable the company to scale and meet the rapidly growing demand.”

We are currently witnessing a pivotal moment in the digital transformation of customer service. Despite the prevalence of digital channels, many customers still prefer phone support, but even those customers now typically have “their screens in front of them,” as Michaeli observed.

Brown believes this presents a significant opportunity. “Many companies are focused on migrating traditional, on-premises phone systems to cloud contact centers that offer similar functionality,” he said. “Instead, businesses can bypass this step and move directly to a digital-first cloud solution by partnering with Glia. If I were building Interactive Intelligence today, I would adopt Glia’s approach.”