Ushur Raises $25M to Revolutionize Customer Communication with No-Code Platform

The trend in enterprise software centers around no-code solutions, and Ushur, a startup enabling businesses to construct AI-driven customer communication processes without coding, has just announced new funding to support its expansion.

The company has secured $25 million in a Series B funding round, spearheaded by Third Point Ventures, the investment firm established and managed by Daniel Loeb. Existing investor 8VC, led by Joe Lonsdale, also participated in this round, bringing Ushur’s total funding to $36 million.

Ushur has not disclosed its current valuation, but it is experiencing substantial growth. Currently, the company is primarily focused on the insurance industry – a sector heavily reliant on customer interactions and data collection – and its clientele includes prominent names like Aetna, Irish Life, Tower Insurance, and Unum. These companies are utilizing Ushur’s platform to build chatbots (referred to as Virtual Customer Assistants), automated email systems (known as SmartMail), and tools designed to accelerate customer service agent efficiency (FlowBuilder). The platform also offers APIs for integration with platforms such as Slack, ServiceNow, Salesforce, and Jira, and supports communication in 60 different languages.

Ushur is now extending its reach to encompass financial services and telecommunications companies. According to CEO and co-founder Simha Sadasiva, the funding will be primarily allocated to expanding the company’s sales and marketing efforts, capitalizing on increased demand observed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As organizations across all sectors – not just those traditionally online – have shifted towards more virtual customer engagement, solutions like Ushur’s have become increasingly valuable.

This is particularly true for businesses that are not fundamentally technology companies. These organizations often lack the internal expertise and resources required to develop and maintain technology-based services independently, while simultaneously seeking solutions that avoid the expense and time commitment associated with engaging third-party system integrators. Sadasiva explained that this contrasts with Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solutions, which typically necessitate technical skills or the involvement of systems integrators for implementation.

This is where no-code solutions come into play: software platforms that handle the complex coding internally, providing users with intuitive interfaces to assemble programs, access databases, and perform calculations without needing coding knowledge, often at a reduced cost.

“Compared to the cost of an RPA tool, our deployment costs are significantly lower – typically requiring only one dollar for every $3-4 needed for RPA deployment,” Sadasiva stated. Irish Life, for example, reported that an email service created for its agents reduced enquiry processing times from a range of 3 hours to 2.5 days to “under a second,” while also decreasing resource requirements by 40%.

It’s important to note that these are not pre-packaged software solutions, but rather customized workflows designed by customers to meet their specific needs and powered by integrated natural language processing.

“We already have hundreds of pre-built templates available,” Sadasiva said. “However, the core concept is that these templates are like building blocks – providing the tools to create a wide variety of new configurations and functionalities.”

Despite the growing number of companies promoting no-code and low-code platforms, and the increasing demand for flexible productivity and communication tools that don’t require programming expertise, Ushur is gaining significant momentum with both investors and customers.

Robert Schwartz, Managing Partner at Third Point Ventures, commented, “They are uniquely positioned at the convergence of major trends in enterprise software – automation that feels personalized while delivering substantial efficiency gains, no-code design for rapid deployment and benefits, customer experiences that prioritize the customer, and exceptional execution.”