Conversocial
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software, Social customer service |
| Founded | November 1, 2009 in London, England |
| Founder | Joshua March, Dan Lester |
| Fate | Acquired by Verint Systems in 2020 |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Area served | Global |
Key people | Ido Bornstein Hacohen (CEO) |
| Products | Social customer service software platform |
| Owner | Verint Systems |
| Website | www |
Conversocial was a privately owned company specializing in social customer service software, with its main office located in New York City and origins in London. In August 2021, Verint, a prominent call center solutions provider, completed an all-cash acquisition of Conversocial. The Verint Conversocial SaaS platform is utilized by organizations including Google, Barclaycard, Hertz, Tesco, Sainsbury's, and Volaris to handle customer support requests across various social media platforms. Before being acquired, Conversocial's investors comprised Octopus Venture, Molten, and Dawn Capital. Ido Bornstein Hacohen held the position of CEO.
History
Conversocial was established in London in November 2009 by Joshua March and Dan Lester. Their experience with social media applications through Facebook Developer Garage London and iPlatform led them to recognize social media as the future communication channel online. After iPlatform was sold to Betapond in 2012, March dedicated his efforts fully to Conversocial.
Ido Bornstein Hacohen joined the company as COO in April 2017 and was appointed CEO two years later, in April 2019.
As an innovator in delivering customer service via social and messaging platforms, Conversocial became an Official Partner of Twitter in February 2016. This collaboration was further expanded by Twitter in February 2017 to enhance growth and revenue opportunities within social customer service.
Conversocial was among the first to integrate Meta Platforms’ business messaging channels—including Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp—securing a significant marketing partnership with Facebook in 2017 and pioneering their inclusion within its platform.
In 2019, the company broadened its capabilities by acquiring Assist.io, which specializes in AI-driven chatbot technology that supports both automated interactions and agent-assisted services.
Verint Systems acquired Conversocial for $50 million in cash during 2020.
Funding
Conversocial entered the U.S. market in 2012 by setting up its headquarters in Manhattan, New York. The following year, it raised $4.4 million led by Octopus Ventures. In 2014, it secured an additional $5 million from the same investor. A substantial $11 million funding round led by Dawn Capital followed in 2015 to accelerate growth and innovation efforts.
Product
The platform offered by Conversocial provides real-time customer service capabilities that enable brands to scale support across messaging and social applications such as SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Its notable features include:
- Priority Response and Queue Engine – an adaptive system leveraging natural language processing to prioritize incoming messages and direct them either to chatbots or human agents.
- Conversation History
- Team Management – supports collaborative communication within teams while allowing managerial oversight.
- AI Chat assistance designed for both automated responses and agent support.
- Analytics & Reporting – monitors key performance indicators like customer satisfaction scores, response times, and trends in issues.
Leadership
Joshua March founded Conversocial and has been featured as a commentator on customer service and social media topics across CNBC, Bloomberg, Fox Business, and BBC. In 2012, iMedia Connection named him among the Top 10 Hottest Digital Marketers.
Ido Bornstein Hacohen joined as COO in 2017 with a background including senior roles at LivePerson and SAP. He managed departments covering sales, marketing, partnerships, customer success, and professional services.
Elevated to CEO in 2019, Ido guided Conversocial through multiple industry accolades for its platform while expanding its global client base and profitability. He also spearheaded the company’s acquisition by Verint in 2020 and continued leading the integration of Conversocial into Verint’s SaaS offerings.
Awards and recognition
Analyst firm Gartner acknowledged Conversocial as a "cool vendor" in their CRM Customer Service and Social Report. Additionally, the UK magazine V3 listed Conversocial among the Top 10 emerging UK technology startups in 2013.
In 2010, Conversocial received a "Highly Commended" distinction in TechCrunch's The Europas - European Startup Awards for Best Platform. The company secured the award for Best Advertising or Marketing Tech Startup in 2011 and was again "Highly Commended" in the same category in 2013.
In 2021, Conversocial's Automated Chat Bot, developed in collaboration with Meta, earned the Shorty Award together with the Facebook Creative X team.
References