Some of the biggest financial firms on Wall Street were fined nearly $2 billion last year for not monitoring their employees’ work-related communication on WhatsApp and other unauthorized mobile messaging apps.
NYC-based LeapXpert aims to address this issue with a tech solution that allows financial services professionals to communicate with their clients via iMessage, SMS text message, WhatsApp and other mobile messaging apps from a platform that monitors and archives conversations to comply with federal record-keeping requirements.
LeapXpert announced Wednesday it raised $22 million in a funding round led by Rockefeller Asset Management’s Technology Ventures Group. The round was joined by Uncorrelated Ventures and the Partnership Fund for New York City.
LeapXpert founder and CEO Dima Gutzeit said in a statement that the funding will be used to enhance its product and expand its reach in the U.S.
“Our goal is to set the global standard for responsible and flexible employee-customer communications, and with this funding, we are one step closer to achieving our vision,” Gutzeit said.
Founded in 2017, LeapXpert is headquartered at 230 Park Ave. in New York City. The company employs 150 people across its offices in New York, the U.K., Israel and Asia. Ten employees live in New York, including Gutzeit and LeapXpert co-founder Rina Charles. A company representative told Built In that LeapXpert plans to expand its team by 20 to 30 percent this year.
Financial services professionals can use LeapXpert’s platform to communicate with clients through text message, phone calls and a variety of mobile messaging apps in a compliant and secure manner. LeapXpert’s integration with Microsoft Teams allows financial services professionals to message clients on their favorite app within Microsoft Teams.
Christopher J. Randazzo, a managing partner of Rockefeller Asset Management’s Technology Ventures Group, said in a statement that LeapXpert has gained “broad traction and validation in the financial services industry.”
“In a post-pandemic world, connecting with clients through their preferred communication channels has become a business mandate,” Randazzo said. “Financial institutions, in particular, have accelerated their digital transformation to meet the increasing regulatory requirements related to communication.”
