RUNO, a mobile SIM-based outbound call management Customer Relationship Management (CRM) startup, has raised USD 1.5 million in a Pre-Series A round led by Unicorn India Ventures and Callapina Capital.

The startup said it would use the funds to hire a senior management team in product and development. “The investment will facilitate the company’s expansion plans into the MENA (Middle East and North African) region and the United States and Canada,” a RUNO statement said on Monday, April 22.

With its user-friendly interface, and highly customisable features, RUNO said its solutions can be integrated with other CRMs to help the clients centralise lead management and optimise outbound sales operations, the company said.

Founded in 2019 by Rajsekhar Pattnaik and Venkata Sai Vamsi Penupothu, RUNO is a modern mobile SIM-based outbound call management CRM designed to revolutionize sales and outbound calling productivity.

“We have over 800 clients. We are going to increase our distribution and go-to-market strategies as we set our sights on the MENA region,” Rajsekhar Pattnaik, Founder and CEO of RUNO, said.

Anil Joshi, Managing Partner, of Unicorn India Ventures, said that with the increasing use of advanced technologies, cloud-based CRM is gaining traction. “AI is going to drive the penetration of CRM in the future RUNO is working on developing such solutions. The fresh funds will help RUNO in expanding its operations and developing products for MSMEs,” he said.

Quoting Grand View Research Report, RUNO pegged the global customer relationship management market size at USD 65.59 billion in 2023, which is going to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 13.9% from 2024 to 2030.

In 2022, the company secured USD 500K in a seed funding round. Runo aims to reach USD 2.5 (about INR 21 crore) in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) within the next 12 – 18 months, the statement said.

According to the Grand View Research Report, the global customer relationship management market was valued at USD 65.59 billion in 2023 and is estimated to touch a CAGR of 13.9% from 2024 to 2030, giving RUNO a hypergrowth opportunity.

This comes against the backdrop of investors losing their interest in the enterprise tech startups as the number of deals plummeted over 46% to 157 during 2023 from 292 in 2022. This occurs as investors lose interest in corporate tech firms, with the number of deals falling by more than 46% to 157 in 2023, down from 292 in 2022.

Using AI, Runo aims to offer smarter call analytics, predictive customer behaviour insights, and streamlined CRM operations.

Article Sources – PTI, RUNO Press Release