Hong Kong software start-up WATI, which helps businesses engage their customers on WhatsApp, has raised US$23 million from investment firm Tiger Global Management, Canadian e-commerce giant Shopify, and other global investors betting on the company’s growth prospects in Southeast Asia.
The Series B funding round was led by Tiger Global and joined by existing investors Sequoia India and Sequoia Southeast Asia. New backers included internet industry investment firm DST Global and Shopify, whose participation marked the Canadian firm’s “first venture investment in a start-up operating in the Southeast Asia region”, according to WATI.
The fresh funding follows a Series A round led by Sequoia India last December, in which the start-up bagged US$8.3 million.
In 2019, the company started developing WATI, a WhatsApp-based platform catering to the marketing and sales automation needs of small and medium-sized businesses, Yeung said.
Officially launched in 2020, WATI now has 6,000 customers across 78 countries, according to Yeung.
WATI is one of several Hong Kong-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) start-ups that are rapidly expanding their footprints across Asia with investments from global investors, as they look for growth opportunities in developing economies.
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