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When Nicolás Camhi , Matías Pérez Pefaur , and Diego Chahuán ( picture above , left to right ) launchedVambelast class , they were building a CRM for debt compendium . But despite gaining traction , they soon realized that their customer were not as concerned in their debt aggregation product as the WhatsApp AI agent Vambe had built to facilitate it .
“ Our client were already expect us , ‘ Hey , could you necessitate the AI so that when you go out after a debt , could you offer this person , I do n’t know , “ x ” merchandise or ‘ ” x ” service ? ’ ” Camhi told TechCrunch . “ We were able-bodied to do it , and it was a very slap-up experience . We realized that what we were building was not a aggregation organization but a communication and engagement tool . ”
The Santiago , Chile - based company pivoted in March 2024 to focalize on these AI agents , aim to help small and medium - sized businesses automate communications with customers and close sale on weapons platform like WhatsApp .
Vambe ’s customers rank from small mammy - and - pop business , like carpeting cleansing agent with five employees , to retail companies that have chiliad of workers . Camhi said the company had annual repeat revenue ( ARR ) of about $ 20,000 decent before it pivoted , but since March , that issue has surged : Vambe close down November with ARR of $ 1 million .
To capitalise on this fast emergence , Vambe of late put up a $ 3.85 million source round led by Brazil - establish VC firm Monashees , with participation from Mexico - based investor Nazca and U.S.-based M13 . Camhi said that 15 % of Vambe ’s receipts is presently generated in Mexico and his team sought out Nazca because the ship’s company wants to expand further in that country .
This round was M13 ’s first investing in a Latin American startup . M13 partner Brent Murri told TechCrunch that the firm started build its dissertation on the part two years ago , but had n’t find the proper company , team or terms to induct until they gather Vambe ’s team at the Berkeley SkyDeck atom smasher earlier this year .
Murri noted M13 was bullish on Vambe ’s tech , exemplify his point with an example : The VC firm ’s squad had built a fake business and used Vambe to plant up an AI agent , and came out impressed with how quickly they were able to do so .
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“ When I look at LatAm companies , I ’m like , what is the carbon copy written matter in the U.S. , ” Murri suppose . “ With Vambe , I saw the opposite . There is nothing quite like this . AI agents for sales and selling in the U.S. is very crowded , I get that , but the real SMB and enterprisingness borrowing , and consumer willingness to adopt AI products is actually much higher [ in LatAm ] than the U.S. and other parts of the world . ”
The reason for this kinship toward sale tech is because business in Latin America is much more conversational than transactional , unlike in the U.S. , Camhi said .
“ It ’s kind of a cultural affair , ” Camhi said . “ Here in LatAm , we really wish to talk . hoi polloi with companies , they do n’t just engage and corrupt something directly from a web pageboy . They prove to get hold of out . They desire someone to help them . They desire to understand pricing . They require to understand delivery . And all of that kind of communication is something extremely hard to scale . ”
Of of course , Vambe is not the only company progress WhatsApp AI applications for byplay in LatAm . For one , Mercately , based in Ecuador , is building the back - ending tech companies demand to communicate with customer and betray directly to them through WhatsApp .
In the U.S. , there are several companies building conversational AI agent for occupation . Bret Taylor ’s Sierra is one that recently raised a$175 million round . ElevenLabsis another that has raised more than $ 100 million in total venture capital . Voiceflowis a smaller fledgeling that has raise more than $ 39 million in VC .
Beyond its ambitions in Mexico , Vambe is looking to cater to Spanish - speaking businesses in the U.S. , establish out its squad , and continue developing its tech .
“ We are putting extremely advanced technology in the hands of concern that do n’t even know how to cue , ” Camhi said . “ They are really increase their sales and reducing their costs . I think that is super , super important . ”
