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Smaller organizations are as enthusiastic about using AI technology to enhance their sales operations, just like larger rivals. Yet, they often do not possess the internal IT knowledge or the financial resources to deploy high-level technologies, such as OpenAI or Anthropic.
Darwin AI, a Brazilian artificial intelligence firm, is creating a conversational AI assistant tailored for small enterprises in Latin America that are interested in adopting AI technology but lack an IT department. The assistant is programmed to engage with consumers in a way that resembles human interaction in order to increase revenue. If the discussion intensifies, either in a bad manner or turns into a sales opportunity, a person will step in to carry on the chat.
Lautaro Schiaffino and Ezequiel Sculli have co-founded a new firm, their second venture after creating Sirena.app, a shared inbox application designed for mid-market organizations using WhatsApp. They expanded the firm to achieve an annual recurring revenue of $15 million and establish a presence in 25 countries before being acquired by Zenvia in 2020.
Schiaffino and Sculli departed from Zenvia in 2022 and began discussing their future plans. They aimed to assist the same market by simplifying sophisticated technologies for those without the technical expertise or resources to construct their own solutions.
Schiaffino told TechCrunch that AI presents a significant possibility but is challenging to integrate for small enterprises. We saw the development of the mid-market sector, where Latin American business-to-consumer companies recognized an abundance of leads but struggled with poor conversion rates. To sell one product, someone must communicate with 100 to 200 potential customers.
Schiaffino and Sculli started creating Darwin AI’s system that integrates with a company’s customer relationship management platform to assess potential sales leads and prioritize those most likely to make a purchase for human sales representatives. Darwin utilizes AI to consider firms’ requirements and then sort through leads and consumers. Schiaffino characterized it as a dual system that communicates with staff and consumers to promote the most crucial opportunities.
The conversational AI industry is projected to expand by approximately 20% annually until 2030 as more organizations incorporate automation into their operations. Several firms, including Rasa, Kore.ai, DXwand, and OpenDialog, have been drawn to address this issue for businesses.
Meanwhile, the business is adjusting the AI by adding additional users to the platform. Darwin is nearing the implementation of a self-learning AI feature that can quickly establish a corporation without requiring a dedicated IT crew.
Since its introduction in 2023, Darwin has handled many discussions and served consumers in other nations such as Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia. The firm is projected to exceed 1 million chats this year. It is also compatible with Zapier and may link to local CRMs.
The firm has generated income from the start. The creators recognized the success of their product when consumers began making payments even before the user interface was developed, according to Schiaffino. He did not disclose the exact amount of money generated by Darwin. Darwin incurs a setup price, a monthly fixed plan, and a use fee per chat. New plan levels will be introduced this year.
Darwin has raised a total of $2.5 million, which includes funds from pre-seed and seed rounds. Canary spearheaded the latest $2.1 million funding round, with additional participation from H20 Capital Innovation, Dalus Capital, FJ Labs, and Latitude Capital.
Schiaffino said that the cash would be used for product development, go-to-market strategies, and operational teams to ensure product quality.
