Coveo Solutions Inc. is out to set itself apart as a provider of technology embedded with artificial intelligence designed to better match what buyers intend to purchase with the best offerings from online sellers.

Coveo, chief marketing officer Mark Floisand said in an interview today, takes a three-pronged approach to accomplish that: making a seller’s product catalog better organized and discoverable by customers searching for particular products; understanding the purchasing intent of buyers; and using artificial intelligence and machine-learning technology to better match buyer intent with what a seller has to offer

Founded in 2011, Coveo has won the backing of investors, with its most recent funding coming in at $227 million for a 15.5% stake in the company. The funding announced today, from OMERS Growth Equity and other investors, including Evergreen Coast Capital, FSTQ and IQ, brings Coveo’s funding to date to $339.8 million.

“Coveo is the market leader in leveraging data and AI to personalize at scale,” says Mark Shulgan, managing director and head of growth equity at OMERS, who will join Coveo’s board. “Coveo fits our investment thesis precisely: an A-plus leadership team with deep expertise in enterprise SaaS, a Fortune 1000 customer base who deeply love the product, and a track record of high growth in a market worth over $100 billion.”

Tooso joins Coveo with AI personalization

The new funding comes as Coveo is reporting substantial growth. It says its software-as-a-service subscription revenue in the past year grew 55% over the prior year. It also recently acquired Tooso, a site search technology provider that uses AI to personalize search results for online buyers.

Coveo, based in Quebec City with offices in Montreal, London and San Francisco, employs 500 and is on a pace to hire an additional 50 people per quarter, Floisand said.

Tableau, a provider of business intelligence software, says it has used Coveo’s technology to provide its own customers better information and save on costs related to customer support. “They helped us save $18 million a year in support overhead as part of our digital transformation initiatives,” Dave Jobling, senior program manager for user experience at Tableau, said in a press release Coveo issued today.

“Coveo gives companies like ours a competitive edge by enabling us to anticipate and meet our customer needs,” said Amy Gath, vice president of marketing at Formica, a manufacturer of flooring products. “With rich content navigation and powerful personalization, Formica.com has seen a double-digit increase in visitors and conversions up triple digits.”

Louis Tetu, CEO and chairman of Coveo, says, “We believe that to serve a million people you need to deliver a million unique experiences. We help businesses globally become digital experience leaders and compete against digital giants, using data and AI to deliver the personalized, predictive and profitable experiences expected in today’s market.”

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