Sales automation startup Novocall bags $500k in 500 Startups-led round

Singapore-based sales automation firm Novocall has secured S$700,000 (US$500,000) in a seed round led by 500 Durians, the Southeast Asia-focused fund of Silicon Valley VC firm 500 Startups.

500 Startups Thailand and Expara Asia Ventures, as well as angel investors such as Exabytes’ founder and CEO, Chan Kee Siak, also participated in the round, according to a statement.

The Novocall team / Photo credit: Novocall

Novocall is a business-to-business software-as-a-service company that provides conversational sales solutions, which automate sales processes for agents and give them more information about their clients. “This helps sales and marketing teams drive more pipelines from the same traffic,” said the firm’s co-founder and CEO, Huang Jing Jie.

With the new capital, the company said it will be able to accelerate its product and customer development. While the company currently has clients in Singapore and Malaysia, it plans to expand to more markets in the region, particularly in Indonesia and Thailand.

To date, Novocall claims that its services are being used by over 2,000 businesses across 42 countries globally, clocking in over 400,000 minutes on its platform through 100,000 calls. It also serves small- and medium-sized enterprises, notably those in the education and travel sectors.

Novocall was founded in January 2018 by Huang, Jionghan Ng, and Amos Choo – alumni of the Singapore University of Technology and Design.

It had previously received a grant of S$30,000 (US$21,600) from Enterprise Singapore’s SG Founder Grant, in partnership with the Singapore Management University’s Business Innovation Generator, and went through an acceleration program with UOB’s FinLab.

Currency converted from Singapore dollar to US dollar: US$1 = S$1.39.