B Capital leads US$15m raise in CRM platform Yalochat

B CAPITAL, the venture firm fronted by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, led a US$15 million Series B capital raise in customer relationship management (CRM) platform Yalochat, marking its first investment in the Latin American market.

Yalochat's existing investor Sierra Ventures also participated in the fund raising, the startup said in a Thursday press release.

Yalochat helps large enterprises use messaging apps such as WhatsApp to manage critical operations in sales and customer service. Since the onset of Covid-19, its platform has seen a tenfold increase in message volume, as companies connect digitally on WhatsApp.

"Conversational commerce has become mission critical to companies looking for new ways to engage with potential customers on their preferred messaging channels. From the beginning, B Capital has been extremely impressed by the Yalochat team, products and growth path," said Mr Saverin, who is a partner at B Capital.

He added: "I am personally looking forward to helping them create new, meaningful connections between Latin America, Asia and the US, where Yalochat can help companies bridge the gap between existing software solutions and the vast world of messaging apps."

Yalochat founder and chief executive Javier Mata said this his firm decided to team up with B Capital because of the venture firm's global presence and experience. "We'll continue to expand into the Asian market, while consolidating our presence in Brazil and Spanish-speaking Latin America," he said.