Mahyar Raissi, Canadian-Iranian software engineer, is the co-founder and CEO of OpenPhone. The startup modernizes communication technology for small businesses.
“We are building phone services for how people use phones today,” Raissi told TechCrunch. OpenPhone aims to replace landlines and outdated PBX systems with a subscription app.
The company closed a $14 million Series A round in 2020. Recently, OpenPhone raised $40 million in a Series B round. OpenPhone plans to use the funds to refine and improve its platform, integrate more tools, and increase its offering of features.
Mahyar Raissi co-founds OpenPhone
After graduating college in 2014, Raissi joined the Toronto-based software company Joist as a Full Stack Developer. The engineer moved up to Product Manager within a year.
In 2018 Raissi co-founded OpenPhone at Y Combinator with his spouse, Darnya Kulya. He got the idea to create a new communication platform based on his own experience.
“My co-founder was at a startup where his job was to find a business phone solution for their sales team,” Kulya told Product Hunt in an interview. “He looked in the market and was shocked by the lack of quality consumer friendly products.”
The San Francisco-based company offers a platform with an app available on phone or computer. Companies, departments, and individual members can have access to a separate work number on a personal cell phone. OpenPhone also offers international calls, group messaging, sharing and syncing contact information, and analytics around usage. The VoIP app allows users to communicate over internet connection rather than phone service.
“…messaging is really important and so is collaboration around a phone number,” Raissi explained. “You could have a shared number for a team and could easily collaborate on text messages and activities. We are bringing collaboration to the phone.”
Canadian-Iranian Mahyar Raissi
Raissi is Iranian, and holds a BS in Software Engineering from the University of Waterloo. While in college, he interned for various software companies including Xtreme Labs, Zynga, and Oanda.
His spouse, Daryna Kulya, is Ukrainian and also based in Canada.
OpenPhone raises $40 Million in Series B Round
Now, OpenPhone caters to companies based in the U.S. with less than 500 employees. However, to expand its range of clientele, OpenPhone is increasing its offering of services.
“One of the big goals is to invest in integrators,” said Kulya. “For example, one key piece is to connect OpenPhone to CRMs.” OpenPhone plans to integrate with established customer relationship management platform Salesforce, with Zendesk and others following.
Investment firm Tiger Global Management led the $40 million Series B funding round. Returning investors Garage Capital, Slow Ventures, and Craft Ventures also participated. So far, OpenPhone has raised a total of $56 million, including its Series A and seed rounds in 2020.
“We’ll use this funding to grow our team, spread the word, and keep building the best phone system for the future of work,” Raissi wrote in a company blog post. “That means even better team collaboration, more integrations with your favorite tools, and all-new features to help your team work smarter, respond faster, and stay happy.”
