AUSTIN, Texas (January 4, 2021) — Khoros, a global leader in digital-first customer engagement software, today announced that it has acquired enterprise customer experience (CX) analytics software maker Topbox and closed on an additional equity investment from existing Khoros investors, including leading global technology investment firm Vista Equity Partners (“Vista”), to help accelerate the Company’s momentum in the CX market.
The acquisition of Topbox brings an innovative omnichannel CX analytics solution to Khoros’ award-winning digital customer engagement platform to create a powerful new standard for artificial intelligence (AI)-powered customer experience management. Khoros with Topbox, backed with additional funding from Vista and other existing investors, will deliver the CX industry’s most comprehensive solution that provides a unified, actionable view of the customer and enables enterprises to create and deliver next-level customer engagement and experiences.
“Topbox is an incredible company with a great product, and I’m excited to welcome Topbox to Khoros,” said Jack Blaha, CEO of Khoros. “Last year accelerated the push toward digital transformation and amplified the criticality for brands to be better connected to the voice of the customer. With the insights Topbox delivers, and the continued support from Vista and our other investors, Khoros’ platform is strongly positioned to empower more brands to communicate with their customers more effectively. Our vision is to help companies create customers for life, and that starts with great customer engagement — Khoros combined with Topbox makes that vision a reality.”
Topbox uses what Forrester Research calls “agnostic aggregation” of disparate data from customer touchpoints such as call recordings, chat transcripts, emails, social media, surveys, reviews, in-app communications and web feedback, and applies proprietary Natural Language Processing (NLP) and AI technology to power a comprehensive CX analysis. Those insights become actionable through the power of the Khoros platform, where companies can engage with customers in the channel of their choice with more insight and intelligence than ever before.
“Today marks the beginning of a new chapter for Topbox, where we will further our mission in providing businesses with innovative technology to listen to their customers, when and where they talk about their experiences,” said Chris Tranquill, CEO of Topbox. “There are thousands of organic conversations happening every day that contain business-changing insights, and we’re thrilled to join forces with Khoros to deliver actionable insights and even more value to customers.”
In addition to funding the Topbox acquisition, the new equity investment from Vista and other existing investors will be used to advance product innovation and accelerate organic growth, with continued focus on Khoros’ Engineering, Support, and Go-to-Market capabilities through 2021.
“We believe Khoros is uniquely positioned to win the massive CX market, which is expanding rapidly as enterprises realize the urgent need to transform the way they listen to and engage with customers,” said David Bonnette, Managing Director at Vista. “We are pleased to continue our partnership with Khoros and to support organic growth and innovation as well as strategic opportunities to incrementally augment capabilities as the Company continues to lead the next revolution in digital CX.”
About Khoros
Khoros is a global leader in digital-first customer engagement software and services. We build enterprise software and offer expert services for digital customer service, messaging, chat, online brand communities, and social media management — differentiated by award-winning services with 20+ years of experience.
Over 2,000 brands use Khoros to power approximately 500 million daily digital interactions and create customers for life. Khoros has over 10 industry awards from TrustRadius, Stevie Awards, G2, and more. Khoros, built from Spredfast and Lithium, has 9 offices globally and Vista Equity Partners is its lead investor. For more information, visit khoros.com.
About Topbox
Topbox Enterprise CX Analytics unifies data from every customer communication channel, VoC platform, and customer intelligence source for analysis as a single data set. The cloud-based solution contextualizes conversations based on your organization’s products, processes, and common issues, for deep understanding of the root causes behind customer behavior and sentiment. Topbox turns customer interactions into leading indicators for organizational KPIs, and paves the way for improved customer retention, expansion, and acquisition. Learn more: www.topbox.io.
About Vista Equity Partners
Vista is a leading global investment firm with more than $73 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2020. The firm exclusively invests in enterprise software, data and technology-enabled organizations across private equity, permanent capital, credit and public equity strategies, bringing an approach that prioritizes creating enduring market value for the benefit of its global ecosystem of investors, companies, customers and employees. Vista’s investments are anchored by a sizable long-term capital base, experience in structuring technology-oriented transactions and proven, flexible management techniques that drive sustainable growth. Vista believes the transformative power of technology is the key to an even better future – a healthier planet, a smarter economy, a diverse and inclusive community and a broader path to prosperity. Further information is available at vistaequitypartners.com. Follow Vista on LinkedIn, @Vista Equity Partners, and on Twitter, @Vista_Equity.