Why Saleswhale sold its business to this SoftBank-backed unicorn

“I believe in the saying, ‘Never say never.’ But this is definitely not something I’d planned for,” said Gabriel Lim, co-founder of AI-powered marketing platform Saleswhale, before handing over his firm to US-based unicorn 6Sense.

However, whatever doubts Lim had about selling his company were eased after doing due diligence and evaluating the synergies with 6Sense. The deal adds to the ongoing consolidation in the global software-as-a-service (SaaS) space.

Founded in 2015, Singapore-based Saleswhale uses its proprietary AI to write personalized emails, engage in conversations with consumers, and detect when a buyer indicates interest in a product. It serves over 145 teams from mid-market and Fortune 500 companies such as InVision, Sage, LaunchDarkly, Randstad, and Cisco.

The Saleswhale team / Photo credit: Saleswhale

Meanwhile, 6Sense helps B2B firms uncover anonymous buying behavior, prioritizes accounts for sales and marketing, and helps firms engage resistant buying teams – or companies that don’t easily get convinced on the sales of a product – with personalized and multichannel campaigns.

Lim didn’t disclose the exact value of the cash and stock deal, but he told Tech in Asia that the amount is in the low to mid-eight figure range in US dollars.

The deal comes after 6Sense secured US$200 million in a series E fundraise, pushing its valuation to US$5.5 billion. Blue Owl and MSD Partners led the round, which also saw participation from SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Insight Partners, Tiger Global, B Capital Group, and Franklin Templeton.

Under the deal, Saleswhale will operate as an independent entity, while Lim will join 6Sense as a product leader. The acquisition will help Saleswhale accelerate product development and focus on the last-mile execution of its sales and marketing product.

Saleswhale is the first Y Combinator-backed company in Singapore that has been acquired. However, the AI startup faced several roadblocks on its path to acquisition.

A tough sell

The proposal for the acquisition came at a time when Saleswhale was considering seeking funds for its series B round, which was intended to push the company’s growth momentum.

A screenshot of the Saleswhale platform / Photo credit: Saleswhale

But at the height of the pandemic in 2020, Saleswhale’s revenues plunged by 70% to US$300,000 as its clients across the world implemented cost cuts.

The company also made reductions to the software it used. It also went through two rounds of layoffs from March to September 2020. Its workforce – 38 employees across commercial, sales customer success, engineering, and design teams – was slashed by half.

The comeback kid

The acquisition push

Placing Singapore on the global SaaS map