Conversation intelligence firm Chorus.ai Ltd. has topped up its piggy bank today after raising $45 million in a new round of funding that takes its total amount raised to $85.2 million.

Georgian Partners led the Series C round, with participation from existing investors Emergence Capital and Redpoint Ventures, and new investors Sozo Ventures.

Chorus.ai is a provider of artificial intelligence-based technology for salespeople. It sells speech recognition software that’s used to record and make transcripts of calls between salespeople and their clients. The software automatically adds time-stamped notes to the transcripts of each call, and then once the call is over, it creates a call log that displays information such as the subject of the conversation and the current stage of the deal.

In addition, Chorus.ai’s software has a machine learning layer that analyzes the conversations to highlight where salespeople can improve.

The transcripts themselves are a goldmine too, since the platform can highlight useful information such as any mention of the customer’s budget data, developments in the negotiations and other important details that can help users prepare for the next stage of talks. In addition, Chorus.ai enables this information to be shared so others can learn from the negotiations.

The popularity of Chorus.ai’s software is such that it has doubled its employee size and tripled its revenue in 2019, though it didn’t provide absolute numbers. Some of its biggest customers include the software code hosting site GitLab B.V., database provider MongoDB Inc., and SAP SE-owned experience management software provider Qualtrics.

Chorus.ai said its software has become even more valuable to sales teams thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, as business deals have become more heavily scrutinized. The company recently published data that shows a 91% increase in the number of buying side chief financial officers joining calls since January and a 77% increase in director-level professionals joining calls.

“CFO participation means they’ll be reviewing the deal package and the potential ROI,” Chorus.ai Chief Executive Jim Benton told SiliconANGLE. “They’re looking for hard numbers rather than the sales pitch. This forces sales reps to use real data that clearly shows business value.”

Benton said Chorus.ai has also helped sales teams to keep their operations up and running while working remotely due to the pandemic. He explained that with the shift to remote work, companies more than ever need clearer insights into their deals and renewal pipelines.

“The insights provided by conversation intelligence can be a lifeline, identifying risks as well as what is working so that they can replicate best practices across the revenue team,” Benton said. “Sales floors in the office may be empty, but through the use of conversation intelligence, managers can still walk the floor virtually and offer coaching and a helping hand when needed.”

Benton said Chorus.ai will look to invest its new funds into its go-to-market team with a view to accelerating its enterprise services and further developing its conversational intelligence technology.

Image: Chorus.ai