Smart Tribune

Following a fundraising process led by Ader Finance, Smart Tribune raised €8m from Elevation Capital Parters & La Poste Ventures (XAnge)

The company that develops intelligent FAQs and automates responses to internet users’ has just completed its first round of funding. Smart Tribune aims to accelerate its growth in France and internationally, as well as continue to invest in artificial intelligence.“We realized that as internet users, when we had a question in the evening or on the weekend, for an e-commerce purchase, we had great difficulty obtaining answers. Yet it is precisely during these times that the majority of online sales are made”. This was the starting point for Jérémy Gallemard, Samy Lastmann and Christopher Montemont to pivot Smart tribune in 2016, after having created it in 2011, to promote co-creation in companies. Together, they looked for solutions to automate answers to questions from internet users. “We based ourselves on the FAQ, which has existed since the advent of the web, and integrated new technologies, artificial intelligence, more ergonomics, and a better search engine. All while personalizing responses based on the user, using information gathered from purchasing paths,” explained Jérémy Gallemard.To improve responses over time, Smart Tribune also integrates user feedback and statistics. The company offers its customers, 40% of whom specialize in e-commerce, a Smart FAQ for customers, a knowledge base for advisors, a routing system to the best contact method, as well as a Smart Bot that incorporates artificial intelligence to understand the user’s intention and provide both an answer and an action. “Consumers are increasingly demanding, and companies need to improve their customer experience to retain them. At the same time, the number of contacts from users has increased tenfold in just ten years. To ease the burden on their service, companies need to automate some of these tasks. And we estimate that about 70% of the questions addressed to customer service can be automated” said the CEO.While the market was in an evangelization phase in recent years, it is now experiencing strong growth. “Companies are in the process of equipping themselves” said the co-founder. To accelerate quickly, Smart Tribune has just completed its first round of funding. The startup raised 8 million euros from investors, including Elevation Capital Partners and La Poste Ventures (XAnge). With this funding, the 50-employee company plans to strengthen its sales force to go from 150 client companies in France to around 500 within 24 months.Meanwhile, Smart Tribune also plans to accelerate its international expansion. “We are already present in 50 countries through our clients’ subsidiaries, and we have an office in the UK. For us, it is a first step into the Anglo-Saxon market. And it is also an important market in terms of e-commerce” said Jérémy Gallemard. This year, the company plans to open branches in Belgium and Switzerland. “We already have many clients there” added the CEO, who plans to target new countries in 2024. For Smart Tribune, this funding will also allow it to continue its R&D work and improve its solutions. “We want to continue to invest in artificial intelligence and stay ahead of the curve” he said. To achieve these goals, the company plans to double its workforce in the next two years.

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