IrisCX, the smart video platform for virtual product selection, DIY setup, and support, announced today that it received $4.6 million in seed funding from Arthur Ventures. The funds will be used for product development, hiring new team members, and investing in go-to-market.
“We are excited to partner with Arthur Ventures because they recognize the huge role virtual service will play in the future,” said IrisCX co-founder and CEO Guillermo Salazar. “As consumers, we’re often forced to settle for a poor sales and support experience. Things like chatbots and 1-800 numbers are painful. In today’s digital-first world, this kind of customer experience is antiquated and unacceptable. We are pleased that this well-respected firm supports our strategy and believes in the capabilities of our team to solve this problem.”
Virtual sales and after-sales support that benefits customers and brands
Through IrisCX’s smart video platform, brands can own their consumers’ purchasing and customer support experiences virtually. Powered by computer vision, conversational intelligence, and machine learning, IrisCX’s self-guided and live video sessions provide brands with the context-driven consumer behavior insights needed for intelligent decision making.
Data generated through IrisCX video interactions provides brands with:
- Insight into consumer decision making
- Insight into sales and support processes
- The ability to grow revenue through virtual pre-sales and sales programs
- The ability to address product design and performance issues faster
- The ability to lower their carbon footprint since fewer truck rolls are necessary
IrisCX has facilitated over 30,000 video sessions between product experts and consumers. Brands have achieved average customer satisfaction scores of 9.6 when using IrisCX. For comparison, many home product brands have average customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores of below 7.
“Companies want to provide better customer and technical support, but they need better tools to do so,” said Salazar. “With IrisCX, you can provide a great virtual, at-home experience that makes customers happier, improves brand loyalty, reduces the cost of customer and technical support, and reduces product returns.”
IrisCX quintupled its revenue in 2022 and is on track to double its revenue in 2023. The IrisCX team plans to double in size in 2023. The company is an alumni of Google for Startups, Acceleprise (Forum Ventures), and Stage 2 Capital’s accelerator program.
Funding details
IrisCX is excited to partner with Arthur Ventures, a Minneapolis-based early growth capital firm that leads investments in B2B software companies located outside Silicon Valley.
“Today’s consumers want self-service and on-demand options because their time is important to them,” said Patrick Meenan, general partner, Arthur Ventures. “IrisCX makes it easy for the average person to perform simple tasks that have traditionally been done by technicians. IrisCX also connects consumers with experts to help them make the right purchasing decisions for their specific needs. It’s a win-win. Consumers receive an improved buyer and user experience, while brands both reduce overhead and improve customer satisfaction.”
This new round of funding brings IrisCX’s total funding to $6.8 million. Heron Rock Fund, Forum Ventures, and private investors provided a $1.7 million pre-seed round in June 2021. Stage 2 Capital selected IrisCX to participate in its accelerator program in July 2022 and has also invested.
“We chose IrisCX because the team has a novel approach to a common problem that represents a huge addressable market. They also have the core expertise and interpersonal chemistry that is needed for a new venture to be successful,” said Sean Po, partner and managing director of Stage 2 Capital Accelerator.
IrisCX will use the seed funding to add new capabilities to the platform and hire more people to drive growth. The company will also invest in executing its go-to-market plan, which targets home product and services companies with large operations in the US and Canada.
“Our customers will start to see advanced functionality in our platform capabilities,” said Luke Krueger, co-founder and chief revenue officer. “With the help of our investors, our customers will benefit from deeper insights into how their products are used in customers’ homes.”
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