Impel announced today that it has acquired SaaS provider Outsell in a deal valued at more than $100 million in cash consideration plus Impel equity, which officials promoting as establishing the auto industry’s first end-to-end artificial intelligence (AI) sales and marketing automation platform.
The companies’ capabilities will empower dealers and OEMs to deliver seamless, hyper-personalized experiences across every stage of the customer lifecycle for the over 8,000 dealers in 51 countries it serves.
This acquisition represents Impel’s third in as many years. The company, a leader in AI-powered customer lifecycle management for the automotive industry, acquired Pulsar AI of Tbilisi, Georgia in 2021 and Los Angeles-based CarLabs.ai in 2022.
Why Acquiring Outsell
Impel Co-Founder and CEO Devin Daly said in acquiring Outsell, they are getting a company with the unique ability to help automotive manufacturers and retailers listen, predict and communicate with customers in a fully automated way that “has earned them a reputation in the industry that is second to none.”
In the past 12 months, Outsell has delivered more than 500 million messages via SMS text, email, direct mail, and social media to 61 million consumers.
“This acquisition enables us to provide a unified AI platform that connects every channel and touchpoint across the automotive retailing ecosystem,” said Daly is a press statement. ‘The combination of intelligent automated outreach coupled with conversational AI is a game changer that will enable dealers of all sizes to deliver exceptional customer experiences while also driving meaningful process and productivity improvements.”
Outell’s Business
Founded in 2004 by serial entrepreneur Mike Wethington, Outsell is located in Minneapolis and employs 170 people. Powered by first-party data, machine learning technology and predictive AI models, Outsell’s customer engagement platform leverages millions of data points and real-time customer behavioral cues to automate and optimize outreach at scale.
Automotive retailing currently faces multiple disruption—the push for electric vehicles (EVs), higher interest rates, consumer uncertainty, the digitization of dealerships, and the changing advertising landscape driven by the deprecation of third-party cookies.
To meet these challenges and the growing expectations of consumers for more personalized experiences, dealers are increasingly turning to AI fueled by first-party data to drive their operations, according to Wethington.
Wethington Comments
Wethington noted with Impel has been the leader in automotive AI, bringing “tremendous innovation to the industry and the transformation of retail now taking place.”
“I can’t think of another company that is better positioned to extend the technology and relationships that Outsell has developed over the past 20 years,’ he said. “I’m proud of what our team has accomplished, and we look forward to joining with Impel to redefine what’s possible.”
According to company officials, Impel’s future growth plans include continued investment in expanding its open partner ecosystem as well as platform expansion through organic product development efforts and selective acquisitions.
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