Ben Lamm and Andrew Busey, co-founders of Conversable, courtesy image.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Conversable’s AI and automation development teams will join LivePerson, which has created the LiveEngage platform to interact with customers via text and other messaging services.
“Conversational commerce is about using AI and natural language – a conversation – to interact with a brand,” Robert LoCascio, CEO and founder of LivePerson, said in a news release. “Consumers do not want to download more apps or navigate websites to order ahead. They want to type, tap or voice order what they want from the messaging services they already enjoy. Conversable brings to LivePerson proven social and marketing capabilities that will enhance our conversational commerce solutions, along with a set of templates and integrations that accelerate bot development for common consumer requests, and commerce tasks like ordering ahead at restaurants.
Serial entrepreneurs Ben Lamm, former co-founder and CEO of Chaotic Moon and founder of Hypergiant, and Andrew Busey, former founder and CEO of Challenge Games and Pluck, founded Conversable in 2014. They raised $3 million in seed stage funding to launch the venture. Since then, they’ve developed applications for clients in telecommunications, financial services, retail, travel, restaurants and hospital and automotive.
Conversable’s platform lets companies engage with customers through major messaging and voice applications, including Facebook, Twitter, SMS, Amazon Echo, Slack, and Skype. Its customers include major brands like Budweiser, Whole Foods, Domino’s Pizza, Viacom, Wingstop, Victoria Secret, Ernst & Young, and others.
“We are excited for Conversable to join LivePerson in taking conversational commerce to the mainstream market,” Lamm, Co-founder and CEO, said in a news release. “Conversation is a transformative interface and an unprecedented opportunity.”
LivePerson has 18,000 customers, including Citibank, HSBC, Orange and The Home Depot. They use its conversational commerce solutions to engage with customers.
