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Intercom, Inc.

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For voice communications systems, see Intercom.

Intercom, Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustryEnterprise software
Founded2011; 14 years ago (2011)
Founders
  • Eoghan McCabe
  • Des Traynor
  • Ciaran Lee
  • David Barrett
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California, U.S.
Key people
  • Eoghan McCabe (Chairperson & CEO)
  • Paul Adams (CPO)
  • Darragh Curran (CTO)
  • Dan Griggs (CFO)
RevenueIncrease US$200 million (2021)
Number of employees
1,013 (2022)[1]
Websiteintercom.com

Intercom, Inc. is a software company that provides an AI-driven customer service and messaging platform.[2][3] It is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in Chicago, Dublin, Sydney and London.

History

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Intercom was founded in California in 2011 by four Irish designers and engineers, Eoghan McCabe, Des Traynor, Ciaran Lee, and David Barrett.[4] The founders had previously operated a software design consultancy named Contrast, which created the bug tracking tool called Exceptional. In 2011, Exceptional was sold to Rackspace, and the proceeds were used to establish Intercom.[5]

In 2012, Intercom received an investment from Twitter co-founder Biz Stone,[6] followed by seed funding from investors including David Sacks, Huddle founder Andy McLoughlin, Dan Martell, 500 Global (previously 500 Startups), and Digital Garage.[7][8]

In March 2013, Intercom announced a $6 million Series A round led by Social Capital.[9] In January 2014, it received a $23 million Series B funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners.[10] Intercom also received a $50 million Series C-1 funding led by Index Ventures.[11][12]

In 2017, Intercom offered to cover legal fees for individuals affected by a proposed U.S. travel ban who wished to relocate to Ireland.[13]

In 2018, Intercom announced a $125 million Series D round led by Kleiner Perkins, with participation from Google Ventures.[14]

In 2019, allegations of inappropriate conduct were made against co-founder Eoghan McCabe.[15] The company stated that both internal and external investigations cleared him of wrongdoing.[16][17] On July 1, 2020, Karen Peacock was appointed chief executive officer.[18] In July 2021, co-founder and then-chief technology officer Ciarán Lee departed the company. The company's board reappointed McCabe as CEO in October 2022.[17][19]

In 2023, Intercom Intercom scaled back some internal programs and public support for social causes. Subsequently, McCabe's activity on Twitter drew internal criticism from staff; he addressed the concerns in a company-wide meeting.[20] In the same year, Intercom also ended support for the Twitter API support citing price changes.[21]

In 2024, Intercom announced a $94 million investment in AI research and development.[3]

Products

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Intercom's platform integrates live chat, chatbot automation, a help desk ticketing system, and a customer data platform.[22] It allows businesses to add a chat interface to websites and mobile apps.[22] The system includes a unified team inbox, knowledge base management, and tools for targeted in-app and email messages.[3]

In 2017, Intercom introduced a chatbot named Operator.[23] In 2022, the company rebuilt its Inbox and launched Surveys, for customer feedback, and Switch, which allows users to move from a phone call to a text chat.[24]

In 2023, Intercom introduced Fin, an AI chatbot powered by large language models.[2][25] Initially using OpenAI's GPT-4, Fin was designed to answer customer questions by referencing a company's help center content.[26] By late 2023, Intercom reported that the bot could resolve nearly 50% of incoming queries automatically.[26]

In 2024, Intercom released Fin 2, which uses Anthropic's Claude model.[26] Fin 2 includes the ability to perform actions for customers in addition to answering questions. Intercom has integrated other AI features, such as conversation summaries, as part of its AI-first focus.[2][27]

References

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  1. ^ "Intercom | Company Overview & News". Forbes. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Palazzolo, Stephanie; Muppidi, Sri (June 13, 2025). "AI Customer Support Startups Intercom, Kore.ai Discuss Multibillion-Dollar Valuations With Investors". The Information.
  3. ^ a b c Gleeson, Colin. "Intercom boss wants 'aggression on all fronts' in €87m AI investment". The Irish Times.
  4. ^ O'Brien, Ciara. "Serial founders expanding his tech success from base in the Valley". The Irish Times. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  5. ^ Newenham, Pamela. "Four Irishmen on a mission to build a billion-dollar company". The Irish Times. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  6. ^ Bort, Julie. "How drinking Guinness with Biz Stone launched one of the fastest-growing startups in the Valley today". Business Insider. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  7. ^ O'Dell, Jolie (January 25, 2012). "Startup Intercom nabs $1M from Biz Stone and other prominent angels". Reuters. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  8. ^ "Biz Stone, 500 Startups And Others Put $1M In CRM For Web Businesses Intercom". TechCrunch. January 25, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  9. ^ Ha, Anthony (June 19, 2013). "Customer Communication Startup Intercom Raises $6M Round Led By The Social+Capital Partnership". TechCrunch. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  10. ^ Lunden, Ingrid (January 22, 2014). "Intercom Raises Another $23M For Its New, More Social Approach To CRM". TechCrunch. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  11. ^ Goldfisher, Alastair (April 7, 2016). "Index leads $50 mln funding round for Intercom". PE Hub. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  12. ^ Garland, Russ (April 7, 2016). "Index Ventures Backs Intercom in $50 Million Series D". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  13. ^ Geron, Tomio; Zakrzewski, Cat (February 1, 2017). "Startup Investors and Executives Denounce Border Curbs". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  14. ^ "Intercom raises $125 million to take on Salesforce – TechCrunch". techcrunch.com. March 27, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  15. ^ Weckler, Adrian (May 11, 2019). "Irish tech boss McCabe admitted 'poor judgment' with female staff as he built up €1bn company". Irish Independent. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  16. ^ Bernard, Zoë (May 9, 2019). "Harassment Allegations Against Intercom CEO Sparked Departures". The Information. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  17. ^ a b ""Eoghan McCabe Is Back As CEO At Business Messaging Startup Intercom"". Forbes. October 6, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  18. ^ Miller, Ron (June 18, 2020). "Intercom announces the promotion of Karen Peacock to CEO". TechCrunch.com. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  19. ^ Lunden, Ingrid (October 6, 2022). "Eoghan McCabe, the controversial Intercom co-founder who left the CEO role in 2020, is stepping back in". TechCrunch.
  20. ^ O'Brien, Ciara (July 7, 2023). "Intercom CEO promises to be 'more thoughtful' in Twitter engagement". The Irish Times. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  21. ^ Binder, Matt (April 14, 2023). "Intercom drops Twitter support citing Musk's new exorbitant API pricing". Mashable.
  22. ^ a b Taylor, Charlie. "Intercom to create 150 new jobs at Dublin HQ". The Irish Times.
  23. ^ Shinal, John (August 9, 2017). "Why this start-up is teaching A.I. chatbots to have 'manners'". CNBC.
  24. ^ Taylor, Charlie. "Tech unicorn Intercom overhauls platform with two new products". The Irish Times.
  25. ^ Yeung, Ken (April 10, 2024). "Intercom's new Fin AI Copilot gives customer service agents their personal AI assistant". VentureBeat.
  26. ^ a b c Hogg, Ryan. "Irish-founded unicorn Intercom ditches ChatGPT for Anthropic's Claude". Fortune.
  27. ^ Ballard, Barclay (May 22, 2024). "Intercom review". TechRadar.
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