Facebook has acquired New York-based Kustomer, a startup specializing in customer-service CRM platforms and chatbots, for a reported sum of $1 billion. However, officially Kustomer said that the acquisition transaction will be subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Started in August 2015, Kustomer is an omnichannel Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) CRM platform specializing in customer service.
"Kustomer businesses will continue to own the data that comes from interactions with their customers. Facebook eventually expects to host Kustomer data on secure Facebook infrastructure. In doing so, Facebook will act as a service provider at the instruction of business customers. This is an industry standard practice among many companies that offer service solutions", read the Kustomer website's announcement by Brad Birnbaum, CEO and Co-Founder, Kustomer.
"While Facebook will not automatically use Kustomer data to inform the ads that a user sees, businesses will have the option to use their data at Kustomer for their own marketing purposes, which may include separate advertising services on Facebook," it added.
Post acquisition, Kustomer will work closely with Facebook. In particular, Kustomer will enhance the messaging experience which is one of the fastest growing ways for people and businesses to engage.
Kustomer was last valued at $710 million in a private funding round and it raised $60 million in Series E round this month only.
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