Goldman Sachs Invests in MoEngage for Global Expansion

MoEngage Secures Funding to Accelerate Growth and AI Integration

MoEngage, a customer engagement platform serving consumer brands in 75 countries, has announced a new funding round spearheaded by existing investor Goldman Sachs Alternatives. This investment is intended to fuel global expansion and further integrate artificial intelligence into its offerings.

Series F Funding Details

A total of $100 million in shares have been exchanged, with approximately 60% representing primary shares and 40% secondary shares. This constitutes MoEngage’s Series F funding round. Indian venture firm A91 Partners joins Goldman Sachs Alternatives as a co-lead investor. To date, MoEngage has raised a cumulative $250 million in funding.

The Rise of Personalized Marketing

As brands increasingly depend on digital channels for customer interaction, the competition for consumer attention has become more intense. This has led to a greater emphasis on utilizing existing customer data to deliver highly personalized marketing experiences. While established marketing platforms remain relevant, there's a growing demand for AI-driven tools capable of automating decision-making processes and minimizing manual effort.

MoEngage positions itself within this evolving landscape with its Merlin AI suite, designed to help marketing and product teams expedite campaign launches and enhance targeting precision.

Leveraging First-Party Data

“We empower B2C brands to connect with their customers more effectively by capitalizing on the first-party data they already possess,” explains Raviteja Dodda, co-founder and CEO of MoEngage.

Global Expansion and Revenue Streams

For the first seven years of operation, the 11-year-old startup primarily focused on the Indian and Southeast Asian markets. Over the past four years, it has strategically expanded into new territories, with North America now contributing over 30% of its total revenue.

Europe and the Middle East account for roughly 25% of revenue, while India and Southeast Asia contribute the remaining 45%.

Goldman Sachs’ Continued Support

The latest funding from Goldman Sachs will further strengthen MoEngage’s global footprint. The investment bank also co-led the startup’s $77 million Series E round alongside B Capital in June 2022.

Dodda emphasizes, “Current investors possess the deepest understanding of the company’s performance, including both its strengths and weaknesses. Goldman Sachs leading this round serves as a robust endorsement of our core business principles.”

Investment in AI Capabilities

MoEngage has made substantial investments in generative AI and decisioning AI over the last two to three years. These advancements are integrated into the Merlin AI suite, which incorporates a variety of AI agents tailored for marketing applications.

Merlin AI Suite Features

Some of these agents function as copywriters, assisting brands in crafting marketing messages, generating campaign variations, and producing text alongside relevant imagery. The suite also includes decisioning AI tools that help determine the optimal message, channel, and timing for reaching specific customers.

A Diverse Client Base

MoEngage currently serves over 1,350 consumer brands globally, including SoundCloud, McAfee, Kayak, Domino’s, Deutsche Telekom, and Travelodge. It also caters to prominent Indian brands like Swiggy, Flipkart, Ola, Airtel, and Tata.

Approximately 60% of the company’s revenue originates from traditional enterprises, while the remaining 40% comes from internet-focused businesses. The platform also collaborates with over 25 global banks and several major insurers, such as JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India.

Winning Over Competitors’ Clients

Several of these brands previously utilized marketing platforms from established players like Adobe, Oracle, and Salesforce. MoEngage has successfully attracted over 300 of these clients, contributing to growth in North America and the EMEA regions.

SoundCloud’s Success with MoEngage

For example, SoundCloud migrated over 120 million users to MoEngage within 12 weeks, leveraging AI-driven insights to accelerate product launches and improve retention among its paying subscribers, according to Hope Barrett, senior director of martech at SoundCloud.

Consolidating Marketing Tools

Many of MoEngage’s customers previously relied on multiple, disparate solutions for specific tasks. The company facilitated the consolidation of these tools into a unified platform, resulting in cost savings and streamlined marketing operations.

“Across our client base, whether they are banks or e-commerce companies, they utilize MoEngage to unify all their customer data from every interaction point – including offline stores, websites, mobile apps, and other channels,” Dodda explains.

Financial Performance and Future Outlook

Without disclosing specific figures, Dodda reveals that MoEngage experienced approximately 40% year-over-year growth last year and aims to maintain a 35% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the next three years. The company also anticipates achieving adjusted EBITDA-positive status on a quarterly basis by the end of the current fiscal year.

Competitive Landscape

MoEngage identifies Braze and CleverTap, as well as the legacy marketing clouds offered by Adobe, Oracle, and Salesforce, as its primary competitors.

Workforce Expansion and AI Development

The startup currently employs approximately 800 individuals across its 15 global offices. It plans to expand its workforce, particularly in North America and Europe, by scaling its customer success, support, sales, and marketing teams to strengthen its presence in those markets. MoEngage also intends to invest further in AI capabilities and recruit additional talent to support these efforts.

Potential for IPO

Dodda indicates that MoEngage is preparing for a potential IPO within the next two years, although a specific timeline has not been established.

“We envision an opportunity to build a multibillion-dollar revenue company in this space,” he concludes.