Prime Highlights-
- Yazi secures $1.6 million in first institutional funding to grow its AI research platform.
- The startup uses WhatsApp and conversational AI to modernise market research.
Key Facts-
- Founded in 2022, Yazi serves clients in 15 countries, with over 65% of revenue from international markets.
- Funding will expand its research panel to 1.8 million participants and launch new products like WhatsApp voice interviews.
Background-
Cape Town-based AI startup Yazi has raised its first institutional funding, valuing the company at R30 million ($1.6 million). The round was led by early-stage venture capital firm 3 Capital Ventures (3CV), which spun out of the investment management firm Allan Gray.
Founded in 2022 by CEO Timothy Treagus and CTO Mzwandile Sotsaka, Yazi plans to change the global $153 billion market research industry. The company moves away from traditional email surveys and uses WhatsApp, the most widely used messaging platform, to reach consumers. Its AI platform conducts conversational interviews that follow up on answers in real time and can run multi-day studies automatically.
Treagus said traditional research tools often fail to reach large consumer groups in emerging markets. “WhatsApp has 94% penetration in South Africa. We built our system to reach people where they already are,” he said.
Yazi has grown rapidly, reporting 2.5x revenue growth in the past year and a 64% month-on-month increase in the latest quarter. More than 65% of its revenue comes from international clients, serving customers in 15 countries.
Yazi will use the funding to make new products, including voice interviews on WhatsApp, and to grow its research panel to 1.8 million people. The startup also plans to expand to the UK and Europe.
Even with early problems, like service interruptions from Meta, Yazi now works with big clients such as Old Mutual, Pick n Pay, Capitec, Discovery, and Ipsos.
