Channel Corporation, a South Korean startup operating the AI business messenger ‘Channel Talk,’ reported an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of 36 billion won last year. ARR, a critical metric indicating yearly income from ongoing contracts, serves as a primary criterion for assessing the status and growth of SaaS companies.
The success of Channel Corporation within five years of Channel Talk’s launch can be attributed to several factors, including high customer satisfaction and retention rates, increased adoption of AI phone products among enterprise customers, and global business expansion.
In the past year, the customer growth rate surged to approximately 40%, with a retention rate remaining strong at 95% for paid channels. Channel Talk’s AI internet phone, ‘Meet,’ has also gained traction, particularly in B2B sectors like hospitals, legal, and education, where telephone consultations are crucial. New features such as identifying consultation history and transcribing calls using AI speech recognition technology have attracted additional customers such as Bullsone, Pindirect, and REEBONZ.
Since its 2018 launch in Japan, Channel Corporation has garnered 25% of its revenue from the country, serving 15,000 local businesses. Major Japanese fashion brands like BAYCREWS and BEAMS are among its clients as the company’s global footprint expands.
Looking ahead, Channel Corporation plans to introduce new AI features aimed at enhancing consultation efficiency. These enhancements will include functions such as summarizing and tagging consultation content, recommending answers based on consultation data, and enabling automated responses through chatbots. Additionally, through collaboration with business process outsourcing (BPO) companies, Channel Corporation aims to integrate AI into contact center products, positioning itself as an essential AI solution for customer service operations.
Choi Si-won, CEO of Channel Corporation, said, “Through continuous product improvement, Channel Talk has become a product used by both SMB and enterprise customers in South Korea and Japan. This year, we aim to significantly reduce customer service resources with our powerful AI technology and accelerate our entry into the global market by expanding into the US, the home of SaaS.”
Channel Corporation’s total accumulated investment stands at 42.3 billion won. Venture capitalists (VC) and private equity (PE) firms such as Atinum Investment, KB Investment, Pavilion Capital, IMM Investment, Bon Angels Venture Partners, and Laguna Investment have invested in the company.
