Manychat Raises $140M to Supercharge Its AI-Powered Messaging Platform

In a landscape flooded with chatbots and AI agents, one startup is proving that utility — not novelty — drives real impact. Manychat, a business messaging automation platform, has secured a massive $140 million in Series B funding to scale its AI capabilities and expand globally.

The round was led by Summit Partners and comes as Manychat rides a wave of strong growth. The company now serves 1.5 million businesses across 170 countries, including major brands like Nike, the New York Times, and Yahoo, as well as countless creators and small businesses.

CEO and co-founder Mike Yan says Manychat facilitates “billions of messages annually” across channels like Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, TikTok, and more. With this new investment, the company plans to deepen its AI-powered automation tools, expand into new markets, and ramp up its sales and support operations.

Notably, Manychat has maintained financial discipline rare in today’s startup world. Yan described the business as “operating on the edge of break-even” — a feat given its scale. Since its founding in 2015, the company had previously raised only $23 million, including an $18 million Series A in 2019.

From Telegram Roots to Global Reach

Manychat’s origin traces back to Telegram, one of the first Western messaging platforms to open its APIs. Yan and co-founder Anton Gorin saw the opportunity to shift customer engagement from email — already saturated by 2015 — to messaging apps, where users were increasingly active.

The team built an early Telegram chatbot tool and earned a spot in 500 Startups, but the company truly accelerated when Facebook opened its Messenger APIs. By 2019, Manychat was reaching 350 million users per month on Messenger, with open rates soaring to 80%.

Today, while Telegram still plays a role, Instagram is Manychat’s most engaged channel by far.

AI as a Differentiator — Not a Buzzword

Long before “generative AI” became the tech world’s darling, Manychat focused on no-code automation that blends personalization and functionality. Businesses use it to grow audiences, handle customer support, and drive conversions via direct messages, comments, and automated flows.

Unlike many generative chatbots — which often provide generic, open-ended replies — Manychat’s value lies in action-oriented engagement. It helps businesses prompt users to click, buy, book, or subscribe.

This approach was a key reason Summit’s Sophia Popova, who led the Series B, decided to invest. “You need to be always on and engaging 24/7,” she said. “Manychat is hitting the nail on the head — especially in an era where a growing portion of commerce is shifting to social messaging apps.”

She also pointed out that most AI chatbots aren't designed to drive conversions, while Manychat’s engagement-first model directly targets that gap.

Looking Ahead

With competition from AI-native platforms heating up, Manychat is making a strategic play: double down on AI, but stay grounded in the user and business needs it’s always served. Yan hinted at upcoming features that will further blend AI smarts with the company’s core automation tools — aiming to keep Manychat not just relevant, but essential, in the next phase of conversational commerce.

“We don’t just want to be smarter,” Yan said. “We want to help businesses get results.”