Inbenta has acquired Horizn, a Toronto, Canada-based provider of easy-to-embed interactive product demos. Inbenta said the deal expands its customer experience platform.

Inbenta, an AI platform purpose-built to optimize customer experience headquartered in Allen, said the acquisition adds a new component to its customer service toolkit, allowing companies to rapidly develop, edit and deploy helpful step-by-step tutorials, improving self-service, and reducing agent escalation.

The Horizn deal comes after Inbenta’s announcement of its $40 million funding in January led by Tritium Partners and the official announcement of its Calif. to Texas move in March.

Inbenta has said it’s using its resources to accelerate product innovation—including a broad Generative AI integration announced earlier this month—establish partnerships, and potentially engage in further M&A activities.

Visually oriented product demos

Inbenta CEO Melissa Solis believes customer experience has an integral role in business. “Everyone knows how helpful and time-saving a tutorial can be when presented in an easy-to-understand, visual format,” she said.

Solis says Inbenta puts “customer experience is at the center of everything” it does, making product demo capabilities a natural fit in its customer experience platform.

In a statement, Solis said, “the acquisition of Horizn marks yet another milestone in Inbenta’s journey to help companies more effectively drive down customer service costs, boost sales, and improve customer experience overall.”

Inbenta said that the acquisition comes as businesses are increasingly looking to leverage visually engaging content in their help centers and other customer service settings to improve customer experience and employee training.

In favor of self service

According to Inbenta, Horizn has shown in most instances to reduce agent escalations in favor of self-service in 80% of cases. Horizn also has been able to establish a large customer base with leading financial institutions in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

The addition of interactive product demos expands Inbenta’s customer experience platform, which already includes chatbot, search, messenger and knowledge management services, the company said. The acquisition underscores Inbenta’s platform approach—consolidating AI and digital CX tools to provide comprehensive support across the customer journey.

“By acquiring Horizn, Inbenta has expanded the number of customer experience touchpoints that it can offer, setting itself apart from the industry’s text-reliant majority,” Horizn co-founder and CEO Janice Diner said in a statement. “The entire Horizn team is excited about this next stage of impact and innovation and looks forward to integrating itself into Inbenta’s leading customer experience platform.”

Horizn was founded in 2011 in Toronto, Canada. Diner, who has  called Horizn “bootstrapped, profitable, and proud,” believes “once you get a customer, love your customer.” In a Q&A with RBC Royal Bank, Diner also said, “hiring the best people is critical.”

Inbenta said that as a part of the acquisition, Horizn CEO Diner will transition into a new role as Inbenta’s head of marketing.

Get on the list.
Dallas Innovates, every day.

Sign up to keep your eye on what’s new and next in Dallas-Fort Worth, every day.