CallMiner, an AI-enabled speech analytics software company, announced today it raised $75 million from Goldman Sachs.
Essentially, the software captures customer service interactions via phone, chat, email and SMS in real time and analyzes what is said, who is saying it and, in the case of phone calls, how it is said. All of this information is then put into a database where companies can evaluate how their representatives are interacting with customers. Some companies have hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of these interactions a day.
CTO and co-founder Jeff Gallino said CallMiner provides companies with a more holistic view of their customer relationships.
“It’s listening to everything,” Gallino said. “[Our platform tells them], here’s what you should be paying attention to. This is where things are good and bad.”
In addition to giving insights on how companies and their call agents can improve their customer relations, Gallino says CallMiner also gives a voice to the consumer.
“Have you ever called a call center and the company that you’re talking to, they’re just not helping you?” Gallino said. “In the past, you had little chance to believe that anybody would ever hear your voice. Now, when something like that happens, the software pays attention to it and will give that feedback to the marketing department or the sales department or the support department. That voiceless person becomes part of the solution.”
The Waltham, Mass.-based company has been around since 2002 and its software leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze more than 1 trillion words annually. It has more than 400 customers, including SiriusXM, Wayfair and Santander.
Gallino says, right now, CallMiner has customers on every continent except Antarctica. With this new funding, the company plans to expand its existing markets in Europe, Asia and Latin America. He also says the company is looking to grow its team by about 50-100 people in the next year or so, adding to its product, sales and marketing departments.
“A big use of this money is to bring some of the innovations we know can be made into the product,” Gallino said. “It’s going to make a good company go faster. This is fuel for the fire.”
