Ever watched a conversation shift so fast that you realize you're not just in the room, you are the room? That’s the vibe at Manychat right now. $140 million in fresh growth capital, led by Summit Partners, isn’t just about a bigger war chest, it’s about playing the messaging game at a level most can’t even comprehend. Sophia Popova from Summit’s now on the board, and you know they don’t play small.
Founded in 2015 by Mike Yan and Anton Gorin, this whole thing kicked off on Telegram, yeah, before the WhatsApp vs. Messenger turf war even heated up. The founders saw it first: people weren’t reading emails anymore, they were chatting. And not just talking, they were buying, engaging, living in these apps. So while others were stuck refreshing inboxes, ManyChat was already wiring the future of conversations.
From a $125K seed check with 500 Startups II LP to raising $163.3 million total, they didn’t just evolve, they expanded, fast. HQ in San Francisco, but they’re breathing global air, offices from Austin to Amsterdam, Yerevan to São Paulo. Over 1 million businesses in 170+ countries, pushing billions of messages a month. You read that right, Nike, the The New York Times, Yahoo? They’re not dabbling; they’re deep in.
And the tech? Visual flow builders, AI that knows what you meant to say, and bots that don’t just talk, they close. ManyChat’s AI Step and Flow Builder Assistant aren’t just tools, they’re the architects of the new customer journey. Messaging isn’t just a support line anymore, it’s the storefront, the pitch, the sale. They’ve locked down ISO 27001, SOC 2, GDPR, CCPA, all the security flex you need to trust them with your data, and more importantly, your customer’s attention.
Let’s talk leadership, Mike Yan shifted gears in late 2022, moving into Chairman and Head of Product. Enter Sunny Manivannan, the new CEO. Sunny’s been part of two IPOs, so don’t think this $140M is where the story ends, it’s the opening scene of Act Two. CTO Dmitry Kushnikov, based out of Spain and Armenia, is the engineering mind turning AI dreams into reality. Together, they’re not running ManyChat, they are ManyChat.
The world’s spending more than $100 billion on social commerce by 2026. ManyChat’s already there. This isn’t automation, it’s amplification. The platform is shaping how creators, businesses, you talk to your customers. And when your words make money, silence isn’t an option.
Let’s connect and keep the momentum going across the tech ecosystem. Whether you’re a founder shaping the future, a leader driving change, a VC backing bold ideas, or an investor spotting the next big thing—together, we’re pushing boundaries. Proud to be building the future with you.
Let’s connect on LinkedIn and keep the conversation going.