The business intends to use the new capital to accelerate the onboarding of a senior management team in product and development. Additionally, it will support the company’s expansion aspirations in the Middle East and North Africa, the US, and Canada. Runo, a mobile app for managing calls, contacts, and customer relationships, was founded in 2019 by Rajsekhar Pattnaik and Venkata Sai Vamsi Penupothu.
Runo, a Hyderabad-based corporate tech firm, has raised $1.5 million in a Pre-Series A fundraising round led by Unicorn India Ventures and Callapina Capital.
The business intends to use the new capital to accelerate the onboarding of a senior management team in product and development. Furthermore, it will support the company’s expansion goals into the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa), the United States, and Canada.
Runo, a mobile app for managing calls, contacts, and customer relationships, was founded in 2019 by Rajsekhar Pattnaik and Venkata Sai Vamsi Penupothu. It interfaces with top CRMs and lead sources to improve lead management and outbound sales operations.
Anil Joshi, managing partner at Unicorn India Ventures, stated, “With Runo’s established success track record, we decided to invest in the firm because of its solution, which allows businesses to achieve a greater conversion rate. With the increased use of modern technology, cloud-based CRM is gaining acceptance. CRM penetration will be driven by AI in the future years, and Runo is currently developing pioneering solutions in this area.”
“We believe the fresh funds will not only help Runo in its expansion plan but also create a path for new products to come in the market that will target MSMEs,” Joshi said in a statement.
“With remote work and scattered workforces becoming the norm in the post-pandemic era, there is an obvious need for novel tools and infrastructure to enable these shifts. Runo’s mobile-first solution is intelligently built to manage distributed workforces and increase productivity across a wide range of phone-based operations, from outbound and incoming call centers to sales and hiring initiatives,” stated Vinod Jose, co-founder and CEO of Callapina Capital.
Pattnaik stated that the corporation expects 7X sales growth over the following eight quarters.
He went on to say, “Our client roster includes over 800 firms, ranging from tiny businesses to large enterprises like as Reliance Nippon, and the majority of these businesses came as organic leads. Using organic growth and client referrals, the company’s aim for the next two quarters is clear: double down on distribution and go-to-market tactics, and as we set our sights on the Middle East and Africa, Runo is positioned to redefine industry norms and serve a worldwide clientele.”
Penupothu stated, “The current cash injection will further strengthen Call Management CRM by mixing SIM-based call tracking with CRM, providing businesses with valuable customer insights. Our emphasis on AI integration in the product roadmap offers smarter call analytics, predictive customer behavior insights, and more efficient CRM operations.”
In 2022, the company secured $500K in a seed funding round.
This comes against the backdrop of investors losing their interest in the enterprise tech startups as the number of deals plummeted over 46% to 157 during 2023 from 292 in 2022.
This occurs as investors lose interest in corporate tech firms, with the number of deals falling by more than 46% to 157 in 2023, down from 292 in 2022.
