Small businesses also crave the power of AI technology to elevate their sales processes in the same way larger companies do. However, many lack the necessary IT expertise and capital to implement enterprise-level tools like OpenAI or Anthropic.
Darwin AI, a Brazil-based startup, is solving this problem by developing a conversational AI assistant for small businesses in Latin America. These businesses don’t have an IT staff, but are eager to tap into the potential of AI. The assistant is designed to interact with customers in a more human-like manner, ultimately leading to increased revenue. And in the event that the conversation becomes complex or a sales lead arises, the assistant will seamlessly bring in a human to continue the dialogue.
Lautaro Schiaffino and Ezequiel Sculli, who previously co-founded Sirena.app – a shared inbox tool for WhatsApp – have joined forces once again to create Darwin AI. Under their leadership, Sirena.app achieved a remarkable annual recurring revenue of $15 million and expanded to 25 countries before being acquired by Zenvia in 2020.
For Schiaffino and Sculli, leaving Zenvia in 2022 was just the beginning. They wanted to continue serving the same market and make complex technology more accessible to businesses without the necessary resources or expertise to build their own solutions.
“AI presents tremendous opportunities, but it can be a daunting undertaking for small businesses,” explains Schiaffino. “We saw that the mid-market in Latin America was struggling – despite an abundance of leads, conversion rates remained low. That’s when we knew we needed to take action.”
And so, the duo began developing Darwin AI’s system, which integrates with a company’s customer relationship management (CRM) software. Through this integration, Darwin AI is able to analyze potential sales leads and elevate those with the highest likelihood of converting to a human salesperson. By utilizing AI, Darwin AI considers each company’s specific needs and filters through leads and customers, acting as a two-sided system that communicates with both employees and customers to advance the most important leads.
As more and more businesses incorporate automation into their processes, the conversational AI market is expected to experience significant growth, with a projected annual growth rate of over 20% through 2030. This has attracted numerous startups looking to meet the demands of enterprises, including Rasa, Kore.ai, DXwand, and OpenDialog.
Meanwhile, Darwin AI continues to refine and enhance its AI technology as it onboards more users. The company is also in the process of implementing a self-learning AI feature that will allow businesses to start seeing results in a matter of days, without the need for a specialized IT team.
Since its launch in 2023, Darwin AI has processed thousands of conversations and has gained customers in several Latin American countries, including Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia. The company is on track to surpass 1 million conversations this year and has already integrated with Zapier, allowing for seamless connection to regional CRMs.
From the very beginning, Darwin AI has generated revenue and gained traction in the market. Schiaffino shares that they knew they had a hit on their hands when customers were willing to pay for the service even before an official user interface was in place. While he declined to disclose the exact amount, Darwin AI operates on a setup fee, fixed monthly plans, and additional charges per conversation. In the near future, the company plans to introduce new plan tiers.
To support its growth and upcoming product developments, Darwin AI has raised a total of $2.5 million in pre-seed and seed funding. Leading the most recent round of $2.1 million is Canary, with additional contributions from H20 Capital Innovation, Dalus Capital, FJ Labs, and Latitude Capital.
Schiaffino shares that the funds will go towards product development, establishing a strong go-to-market strategy, and assembling an operations team to ensure the quality of the product. With these investments, Darwin AI is well-positioned to continue disrupting the conversational AI market and empowering small businesses in Latin America with the transformative power of AI.
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