• Wamda portfolio company Insider, has raised an investment of up to $105 million from Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Esas Private Equity.
• Founded in 2012 by Hande Cilingir, with co-founders Serhat Soyuerel (Chief Revenue Officer), Arda Koterin (Chief Customer Officer), Sinan Toktay (CTO), Okan Yedibela (VP of Engineering), and Muharrem Derinkök (Chief Product Officer), Insider is a platform for individualised, cross-channel experiences, enabling enterprise marketers to connect customer data across channels and systems, predict their future behaviour with an AI engine and orchestrate individualised experiences to customers.
• With this latest investment, Insider’s total funding amount reaches $274 million.

Press release:

Insider — the #1 marketing platform for delivering individualised, cross-channel customer experiences — today announced an investment of up to $105 million from existing investors, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) — and Esas Private Equity. With this latest investment, Insider’s total funding amount reaches $274 Million.

The funds will be used exclusively to accelerate Insider’s M&A strategy to build upon the company’s existing technology and capabilities. Insider was recently recognised as the #6 Best Software Company in the world by G2. In light of economic headwinds, Insider plans to utilize the current market conditions to achieve unparalleled growth through an M&A-focused strategy. Together with the company’s $121 million Series D raise from March 2022, these investments will supplement Insider’s significant growth reserves. 

Insider has grown rapidly in every corner of the globe and now boasts 1,200+ customers, which include 1/3 of the Fortune Global 500 and some of the world’s best-loved brands, including Singapore Airlines, Estée Lauder, Samsung, Vodafone, Allianz, Virgin, Toyota, New Balance, IKEA, GAP, L’Oreal, Santander, BBVA, Pizza Hut, Newsweek, Nissan, AVIS, MAC, Marks & Spencer, Avon, and CNN.

Earlier in the year, Insider announced the acquisition of MindBehind, a Meta-verified, Conversational Commerce and Messaging Platform, to accelerate its development of conversational solutions. Following the company’s first acquisition, Insider is now actively exploring further M&A opportunities in its mission to further enhance its product and roadmap to meet the evolving needs of marketing teams. Insider’s mission is to help brands deliver unforgettable, individualised experiences that customers love while helping marketing leaders simplify and consolidate the Customer Experience tech stack into a single powerful platform that delivers the fastest Time To Value (TTV) and lowest Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

Insider recently published its growth figures for the last 12 months, showing phenomenal growth in strategic regions, including the UK, Europe, and The Americas. Despite broader economic headwinds, this strong growth trajectory demonstrates the global appetite for Insider’s solutions.

Insider CEO and Co-Founder, Hande Cilingir, explains, “At Insider, we have successfully achieved hyper-growth via organic means, until now. Now, we are looking to achieve unparalleled levels of growth with an M&A-focused strategy. These funds will be used exclusively for the purpose of acquiring exceptional product companies, to further complement our technology and create product synergies. Unlike our $121 million Series D investment in 2022, which has bolstered our capital reserves for operational spending in the coming years, this latest round will specifically serve to fuel inorganic growth through M&A.” Cilingir added, “The response from the market, and our customers, following Insider’s acquisition of MindBehind, earlier this year, has increased our appetite to explore further opportunities to acquire unique organizations with industry-first technologies to better serve our customers, drive more value, and source innovative solutions to marketers’ biggest frustrations and challenges.”

Faraaz Khan, Insider’s Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer, is focused on accelerating business growth through M&A and channel partnerships. Khan comes with 20+ years of experience and joins Insider from Sitecore, where he was credited for successfully closing seven acquisitions in four years. Khan said, “I am excited to be at Insider at such an exciting time in the company’s history. This latest news clearly demonstrates the continued trust that our investors see in Insider’s vision – and, most importantly, our growth and results. This latest investment will build upon our capital reserves, and be used to accelerate growth via M&A. My team and I are already in discussions with several companies, and we will continue to meet with interested parties and review new opportunities.” 

Ahmed Ali Al-Hammadi, CIO, Europe of QIA said, “Following QIA’s lead in Insider’s Series D round in 2022, we have been encouraged by Insider’s growth strategy and resilience. We are pleased to further support the company’s vision to expand. Led by our specialist technology, media, and telecoms (TMT) investment team, QIA looks to partner with companies at the forefront of innovation and development. As a female-led tech unicorn, Insider is proving to be a leader in the marketing tech ecosystem.”

Pieter Kemps, Principal at Sequoia Capital said, “In a tough macro-economic environment, Hande and the entire Insider team have shown resilience, tenacity and a strong focus on customer needs. This has powered a product vision that landed them in over 100 leadership spots in G2, Gartner, and Forrester. This demonstrated the deep trust from their customer base, which in turn fuels our belief in Insider’s ability to further expand its position as an emerging market leader in their space.”