San Francisco-based artificial intelligence (AI)-powered go-to-market platform Landbase has acquired Toronto-based AI research tool LavaReach for an undisclosed amount.
Founded in 2023 by Daniel Zhao and YiMing Han as a two-person bootstrapped company, LavaReach’s platform aimed to help sales teams research companies at scale. Lavareach’s tool automatically researches a list of prospective companies based on a user’s plain-language, intelligence-gathering questions. Landbase said in a statement that Zhao and Han will join the company and use “their deep technical skills and AI prowess” to help scale its go-to-market automation solutions.
According to Landbase, the acquisition process was completed within a week.
“I connected with them after receiving a well-crafted cold outreach message, and after speaking with them, we quickly recognized our shared vision for the industry and the opportunity to bring together a team with both deep technical expertise and a strong execution mindset,” Landbase co-founder Daniel Saks said in a statement.
Saks himself is a Canadian entrepreneur who co-founded San Francisco-based software firm AppDirect with Nicolas Desmarais in 2009. Desmarais is part of one of Canada’s most influential families across a number of sectors. They backed notable Canadian tech companies like Wealthsimple, Koho, and Borrowell via Power Corporation. AppDirect, which has raised more than $400 million in venture funding to date, provides a platform that helps businesses sell, distribute, and manage cloud-based software and services.
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Saks departed from his executive role at AppDirect in 2022 and went on to create Landbase, which emerged from stealth with $12.5 million USD ($17.8 million CAD) in seed financing this past September. The startup developed GTM-1 Omni, an AI model meant to automate go-to-market workflows and launch omnichannel campaigns with minimal manual input.
Some of AppDirect’s investors, including Canadian venture firm Inovia Capital and the Desmerais family, have also backed Landbase.
“Since co-founding AppDirect in 2009, I’ve been committed to supporting the Canadian tech ecosystem,” Saks told BetaKit in September. “I’m grateful to continue this commitment with Landbase.”
Landbase later secured $4 million CAD in growth capital through a private credit facility from CIBC Innovation Banking. Saks told BetaKit in December that the capital would help Landbase scale its operations.
Feature image courtesy Landbase.