Sales fintech Seismic pushes valuation to $3 billion

Sales and marketing software developer Seismic raised $170 million in fresh funding that pushes the fintech’s valuation to $3 billion, the company announced Monday. 

The latest funding, which brings Seismic’s capital to $270 million raised to date, was announced alongside its acquisition of Lessonly, a venture capital-backed developer of online sales coaching. Seismic touts its services as an enterprise “sales enablement” platform that leverages artificial intelligence and personalized content to create more productive interactions between an adviser and their clients, said Bill Finnegan, managing director of financial services marketing at Seismic.

For example, Seismic’s AI-guided platform will gather information based on customer engagement history, like the amount of time a client has spent viewing certain documents or emails, to reveal the next best action an adviser can take with a client. 

“If I'm a wealth adviser, and I know that you're looking at your returns, and you're staring at the fixed income components, I can say: ‘OK, she's worried that she's got a lot of money sitting in fixed income that's not providing the return,’ and that's what I would summarize as an adviser,” Finnegan said. “Now we can deliver the right content to the right person at the right time, every time. That’s one powerful combination.” 

With the acquisition of Lessonly, which works with more than 1,200 companies, the Seismic platform now plans to provide a digital-focused experience where users can access sales and marketing content alongside learning programs, practice scenarios and coaching plans in one central location, said Finnegan. 

As for the fresh capital, Seismic is eyeing further expansion in Asia-Pacific, said Finnegan. However, the firm will undertake heavy research and development to ensure that it can cater to the different local markets in that region. In June, Seismic named Heather Cook as vice president of the Asia-Pacific region to spearhead its expansion in Australia, New Zealand and other Asian markets. Seismic is headquartered in San Diego, with offices currently in North America, Europe and Australia.

Further M&A activity is likely on the horizon, too, as the pool of capital can be used to acquire the single-point solutions that are innovative in the marketplace but can't stand on their own long-term, Finnegan said. 

Seismic saw an influx of usage on its platform last year with the pandemic-fueled lockdowns, layoffs and the shift to remote work culture. In June, the platform surpassed $200 million in annual revenue run rate, following a string of milestones for the 10-year-old fintech.

In Europe and Asia-Pacific, Seismic recorded an increase of 182% year over year in sales growth, and filled key executive positions during the past year including its first-ever chief product officer, Krish Mantripragada, and increased global headcount by 200 for a total of more than 1,000 employees worldwide. Seismic has nearly 2,000 customers including IBM Corp, Cisco Systems Inc, Microsoft, and American Express Co.

Seismic investors include Permira, JMI Equity, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Jackson Square Ventures, Ameriprise, and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.