IU Philanthropic Venture Fund was among the investors in the contact centre platform creator's round, which will help grow the business through recruitment and product development.

US-based customer contact centre platform developer Sharpen Technologies has received $15m in a growth funding round backed by IU Philanthropic Venture Fund. Venture capital firm Elevate Ventures also took part in the round along with Allos Ventures, Cultivation Capital, Jupiter Peak Capital, Collina Ventures, F&M Investment Office and Lightchain. IU Philanthropic Venture Fund is managed by Indiana University’s fund management affiliate, IU Research and Technology Corp. Founded in 2011, Sharpen Technologies operates a cloud-hosted platform for customer service call centres with features such as support for several communications media and the ability to route calls through Sharpen’s registered telecoms carrier. The software includes functionality intended to improve the efficiency of human customer service agents, centred on a so-called Agent Experience Score measuring their overall performance and wellness. Sharpen will make use of the capital by upgrading its platform and expanding its sales team as it looks to increase its market presence. David Kerr, managing director of Allos Ventures, will join the board of directors. Sharpen Technologies had received a total of $11.1m in equity and debt financing prior to the latest announcement, according to regulatory filings, which state Sharpen obtained $1m of equity in a 2014 round before attracting $4m in equity two years later. Sharpen subsequently disclosed $3.9m of debt in a filing dated November 2018, however it is unclear whether this relates to the latest round. Elevate Ventures was confirmed in the press release as having backed Sharpen previously. Its chief executive, Chris LaMothe, said: “Sharpen’s unique approach to omni-channel communications, combined with its agent-first focus and reliable platform give the company a strong advantage in the fast-growing cloud contact center market.”

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