OpenCX Secures $7M to Scale AI Customer Communications, Eyes GCC Expansion
OpenCX has raised $7 million in a round led by Y Combinator (backing the company for a second time) and X by Unifonic, with participation from Abu Dhabi-headquartered Shorooq (regulated by the FSRA as a Fund Manager) and Sadu Capital. The company is gearing up to meet rising enterprise demand for AI-driven customer communication across voice, chat, email, and messaging.
The funding will also support OpenCX's expansion into the Gulf, including a planned regional office in Saudi Arabia. For PR and Communications leaders, this signals where enterprise engagement is headed: higher volume, more channels, greater complexity-and smarter automation doing the heavy lifting.
Why this matters for PR and Communications
Customer contact is now always-on and cross-functional. Your brand reputation rides on how quickly, clearly, and consistently you respond-no matter the channel or scale.
- Faster response without losing tone: AI agents can handle routine interactions while keeping messages on-brand and empathetic.
- Control at scale: Guardrails help maintain compliance, approvals, and auditability across teams and regions.
- Omnichannel consistency: One system to keep messaging aligned across voice, chat, email, and messaging apps.
- Measurable outcomes: Outcome-based pricing tied to successful automation forces clarity on KPIs that comms leaders care about.
What OpenCX is building
Founded by Mohammad Gharbat and Mohammad Tabaza, OpenCX automates more than 70% of the customer communication stack-support, inbound and outbound, and phone operations. The platform goes beyond scripted bots, coordinating multi-step flows that feel natural and context-aware.
OpenCX started as an open-source project used by tens of thousands of developers, then evolved into an enterprise platform. Today, the company positions itself as a core system for organizations modernizing customer engagement in an AI-driven economy.
"Enterprises today aren't struggling with customer support volume alone-they're struggling with complexity. Our focus has always been on helping organisations scale confidently, without customer communication becoming a limiting factor. OpenCX is built to operate where the stakes are high, the workflows are complex, and trust matters." - Mohammad Gharbat, CEO and co-founder, OpenCX
Who's backing it
The round was led by Y Combinator and X by Unifonic, with Shorooq and Sadu Capital participating. Shorooq's view reflects what many investors see in enterprise AI for comms: clear demand and measurable value.
"Enterprises across the region are facing unprecedented scale and complexity in how they engage with customers. OpenCX is building infrastructure-grade AI that enables organisations to grow without customer communication becoming a constraint. This is exactly the kind of foundational technology we look to back." - Tina Daher, Principal, Shorooq
Who it serves and how it's adopted
OpenCX focuses on regulated, mission-critical sectors like fintech, healthcare, and large consumer platforms. Customers include MoneyGram.com, More.com, Viva.com, and Mollie.com.
The engagement model is straightforward: a demo-led evaluation, followed by a one-month, risk-free implementation with no operational disruption. Pricing is outcome-based and tied to successful automation-useful for comms leaders seeking budget alignment with results.
GCC expansion and why Saudi matters
OpenCX plans to expand in Saudi Arabia and hire locally as AI adoption accelerates. For enterprise comms teams across the GCC, this brings more regional support, language nuance, and regulatory understanding-key for sectors where compliance and trust drive reputation.
For broader context on the Kingdom's AI push, see the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) for national priorities and initiatives: SDAIA.
Practical moves for PR and Comms leaders
- Map use cases by channel: FAQs, account status, appointment updates, release announcements, crisis macros, and VIP routing.
- Set brand guardrails: Tone rules, approved phrasing, escalation triggers, and compliance checks embedded in workflows.
- Pilot with one region or line of business: Validate accuracy, latency, handoff quality, and stakeholder sign-off.
- Build a QA loop: Human review for edge cases, ongoing training on brand voice, and periodic audits for accuracy and bias.
- Align on metrics that matter: First-response time, resolution rate, deflection rate, CSAT, sentiment, and compliance adherence.
- Prepare crisis fallbacks: Pre-approved messages, instant human escalation, and channel-specific throttling when needed.
The bottom line
Enterprises don't just need faster replies-they need coordinated, context-aware communication at scale. OpenCX is positioning itself as a platform of record for teams that want volume, quality, and control in one place.
If you're upskilling your team for AI-enabled comms, explore curated learning paths by role: Complete AI Training - Courses by Job.
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