After Series A and B investments and the acquisitions of STILINGUE and GUS, the company returns to generating cash and aims for international growth in markets such as Mexico and Spain
With a history of more than 23 years, the Blip, leading conversational intelligence platform that creates conversations and connects experiences between brands and their customers across leading messaging apps, stands out in the market by adapting to the consumer dream of high-growth companies, which is profitable growth. In addition to becoming a “camel” company – a term aimed at institutions that generate cash in their businesses, Blip also becomes part of the select group of “centaurs” companies – when a company earns more than US$$100 million per year.
The company achieved annual growth of 40% in 2023 and closed Q4 with a positive EBITDA of more than 10%. In terms of Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR), Blip closed the year above US$150 million. Today, the company has more than 1,500 employees and almost 4 thousand customers in more than 32 countries, including Itaú Unibanco, Coca-Cola, Stellantis, Claro, Hermes Pardini, BMG, Safra, PagSeguro, Empiricus and Dell.
“Our expectation has always been to achieve this objective, profitable growth. We work hard to reach this milestone, with our blippers, customers, major partners and investors supporting us and believing in the power of conversational artificial intelligence. We created goals and several initiatives with the purpose of reaching this mark and the result is very satisfactory. The great advantage of Blip is that our market is infinite. Every company in the world will need an intelligent contact. The year 2023 was important for seeking financial balance, which puts us in a privileged position so that in 2024 we can once again direct our efforts towards accelerated growth and, even so, with profitability, which is what the financial market favors today” , states Roberto Oliveira, co-founder and CEO of Blip.
According to the executive, the strategy now is to strengthen the international presence of Blip and its solutions, alongside Meta, in countries where WhatsApp has strong market usability, similar to what already occurs in Brazil. “Our global expansion is connected to our arrival in Mexico and the European market. It is a natural step to move on to other Latin countries and Mexico manages to surpass even Brazil when we talk about the penetration of Mobile Commerce in E-commerce”, comments Roberto.
The executive also says that he aims to expand the company's operations to the Iberian Peninsula, especially in Spain, where the adoption of WhatsApp has been growing. “We announced in December last year the acquisition of GUS, a Mexican company in the conversational sector, and they also have an office in Spain and this will boost us in the region. Afterwards, we plan to continue this growth to other countries on the European continent”, he adds.
Business expansion
In 2020 and 2022, Blip raised a total of US$170 million in Series A and B, through the global fund private equity Warburg Pincus, in addition to having acquired STILINGUE, a multichannel platform aimed at creating better digital experiences between brands and consumers, through social listening and the potential of artificial intelligence.
“In 2022, the capital market, mainly for technology and high-growth companies, such as Blip, underwent changes driven by the macroeconomic scenario and, faced with this new reality, we made a double commitment with our board of directors and shareholders: continue with the path of sustainable growth combined with the target of cash generation in the fourth quarter of 2023. All these achievements and decisions allowed us to improve the company's efficiency and productivity, to grow profitably – one of our priorities”, points out the executive.
For Roberto, the company's financial health is due to their vision of the future, combined with strategic planning and closely monitoring market movements. “We have time to decide whether and how to raise a series C, for example, and take bigger steps from 2024 onwards, accelerating the acquisition movement and increasingly expanding our international operations. We have a lot of time to grow and we will grow. The market can always expect an increasingly accelerated evolution from Blip, increasingly innovative and closely following the global technology, innovation and communication market”, concludes Roberto.
About Blip
Blip is the leading conversational intelligence platform that creates conversations and connects experiences between brands and their customers across leading messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, RCS and Apple. With STILINGUE by Blip, acquired in 2022 and which uses artificial intelligence to monitor conversations on digital channels, Blip offers the market the best of AI applied to social listening and the best conversational business messaging solutions. In 2023, Blip acquired the Mexican Gus, a Mexican company in the conversational sector, and reinforces the company's global strategy.
In addition to Brazil, Blip is present in more than 32 countries and has offices in Mexico City, Mexico, and Madrid, Spain. The brand has helped around 4 thousand companies such as Dell, GM, Itaú Unibanco, Coca-Cola, Stellantis, Claro and others to sell, engage and relate to consumers on digital channels. Blip has already received contributions, Series A and B, of more than US$ 170 million from Warburg Pincus. It was included in the Great Place to Work ranking of the best companies to work for for more than 5 consecutive years and in 2023 it became part of the Best Companies to work for in the technology category. More information at https://www.blip.ai/
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