HubSpot is an expert in Inbound Marketing and CRM systems development. We have observed and analysed its latest operations in the market to find out the type of companies it has acquired and the strategies carried out to do so.

Buying HubSpot companies

HubSpot (Cambridge, Massachusetts) has been largely inactive in buying a company since its foundation in 2006. Specifically, 9 companies have been victims of HubSpot and we wanted to analyse the most recent ones.

Rather than learning about the operation itself, our analysts wanted to investigate in the type of companies acquired and see the strategies they have followed to make these decisions. They were as follows:

1. Motion AI

Motion AI is a software company that develops and "trains" chatbots and was launched in 2015. They enable the building, training and deploying robots using Artificial Intelligence to do almost anything imaginable. These bots can take food orders, diagnose patients and even conduct customer service chats. Motion AI offers chatbots that work on websites like Facebook Messenger and without the need for coding.

HubSpot announced on 20 September 2017 the acquisition of Motion AI. Even before the deal was confirmed, the tool had been was already integrated on HubSpot Free CRM. The entire Motion AI team, including founder and CEO David Nelson, joined HubSpot.

"It's impossible to ignore the impact of chat and messaging, not just on the way B2B companies operate, but on society at large," said HubSpot CEO Brian Halligan. "We are in the midst of massive changeas businesses embrace this new platform and consumers expect more immediate and always-on communication from brands.

2. Evolve App

Evolve is a dating app that uncovers hidden patterns into a person's dating and relationship history and gives them smart advice on their love life. This app was launched in 2015 and received in the same year a first seed of USD 1 million for further development.

On 25 August 2017 we learned of the sale of the app to HubSpot. The terms of the deal were not disclosed by either party.

HubSpot noted after the agreement the importance of machine learning and artificial intelligence for your future and that the company had focused these efforts on increase the capabilities of your CRM. "We believe that personal relationships are one of the next frontiers for machine learning and that data can be a valuable tool to help people make decisions," said Eric Boutin, CEO of Evolve.

3. Kemvi

On July 25, 2017 HubSpot announced the acquisition of Kemvi, a startup whose machine learning and AI software was integrated into HubSpot's CRM. to help sales teams to develop better relationships.

Prior to the sale transaction, Kemvi launched DeepGraph, a product that analyses public data to enable sellers to can identify the best time to reach out to potential customers. For example, after a job change or the publication of an article). Kemvi also communicates proactively to verify leads or potential customers.

"Our vision has been to empower sales and marketing professionals by building technology that can extract information about what is happening in the world," said Kemvi founder and CEO Vedant Misra.

And from HubSpot's perspective, Chief Strategy Officer Brad Coffey said the company had been looking for new ways to incorporate AI into its platform. He acknowledged that "AI" and "machine learning" were buzzwords that were being used a lot at the time, but he found Kemvi particularly appealing. because it addressed a real need among vendors.

4. ReKindle

ReKindle, founded in 2014 and based in Boston, is a professional connection app. It was created as an app that enabled users to reconnect with old contacts (such as friends, university colleagues, etc.) sending anonymous messages.

Like Tinder, ReKindle uses a swipe left or right function to connect users. The app also pulled information from different social networks, displaying how users were connected in various Internet applications and websites. Another key feature of ReKindle is that it requires a "double opt-in" for connections to be made.

On 24 March 2015 HubSpot made its first acquisition as a public company with the purchase of ReKindle. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The application's connection graph, which powered ReKindle's contact search engine, will be integrated into HubSpot's products as a contact management tool. Sidekick for marketers (now rebranded as HubSpot Sales).