Respond hits $35M ARR proving AI agents dont kill SaaS, they drive it
malaysia's respond.io raised a $62.5m series b, hitting $35m arr by using ai agents to automate sales. this validates a volume-based pricing model over per-seat fees as ai automation scales.
respond.io, a malaysian customer conversation platform, raised $62.5m in a series b round to fuel acquisitions and expansion into european and north american markets. the company achieved $35m in arr, growing 169% year-over-year, by utilizing ai agents to automate lead qualification and sales for high-consideration industries like automotive and healthcare. processing 2 billion messages per quarter, respond benefits from a data flywheel where increased volume refines its ai models, creating a competitive moat against general-purpose tools like chatgpt. the firm plans to use the new capital to acquire strategic teams and bolt-on technology, aiming to bypass organic market entry barriers.