Customer SMS venture Pendula tops up $5 million with an extra $1.75m

Customer communications startup Pendula has landed a $6.75 million round just three months after setting out to raise $5 million.

The raise was led by MA Financial Group – previously known as Moelis Australia – and supported by existing backer Equity Venture Partners, as the business eyes overseas expansion and will be used to improve the platform’s analysis and insight capabilities. The startup did not disclose a valuation resulting from the raise

Founded in 2017, the Sydney-based venture delivered 50% year-on-year revenue increase in 2020, having spoken with nearly a third of all Australians via SMS on behalf of its business clients, which include telco amaysim, the Cancer Council, TedX, Ramsay Health Care, and Origin Energy.

With 85 business customers, and offices in two states, the business has now hosted 15 million SMS conversations.

The Pendula tech platform allows consumers to quickly and easily communicate with businesses through automated SMS and emails and is now in a third Generation that’s focused on making automated communications more human. A surprising 90% of consumers prefer to use SMS when communicating with a company.

Founder and CEO Alex Colvin said the purpose of the raise was to deliver Pendula’s open conversion model to more companies around Australia and the world.

“Our roster of clients, commitment to the consumer experience, and an insatiable desire to revolutionise the market means that we’re set for an exciting future,” he said.

The company’s software consolidates a client’s communication technology stack into one solution with improved visibility across the customer journey. Pendula’s conversation and workflow engines enable automation, simplicity, and speed across every stage of a customer experience and allows a business to offer customers choice, freedom, and personalisation through digital conversation on the channels they already use.

It means a business can shift their customer communications from broadcast to conversation by enabling two-way messaging and workflow at scale.

Pendula originally announced plans to raise $5 million back in April.