RedRoute, an alumni company of the 2016 eLab cohort, has secured $6.5 million in seed funding led by ScOp Venture Capital and Bullpen Capital. The startup was recently featured in a TechCrunch profile highlighting its success.
Founded by Brian Schiff ’18, Jacob Cooper ’16, and UC-Davis alum Sam Krut, RedRoute has evolved from a ride-hailing app to an artificial intelligence software for customer service. The AI can resolve simple caller requests through a back-and-forth, “Alexa-like” conversation. According to Schiff, the technology can handle about 50% of callers’ requests on its own.
Customers can try RedRoute for free for 30 days with no upfront cost. Schiff said the company’s performance-based pricing model is a first for the industry, differentiating RedRoute from other companies in the customer service automation sector.
RedRoute appeals to smaller companies thanks to the low cost of adopting the product and the ease of getting started with it. After only a 30-minute set up, customers can immediately see results. By handling simple requests, RedRoute frees up customer service agents for more complex questions.
“We feel like we’re in a position where we have established product-market fit,” Schiff said. “We’ve got strong traction in a big market, we understand how to grow it and this is the opportunity to scale it. That’s really what we’re thinking about and working on every day.”
Currently, RedRoute has about 100 customers, including Brooklinen, UNTUCKit, Pair Eyewear and GNC. In the fourth quarter, the company’s revenue grew ten times and e-commerce grew three times.
Schiff plans to put the new funding toward product development and expanding the company, especially leadership positions. RedRoute grew to this point with 25 employees and plans to have 40 by the middle of the year.