No industry is escaping the wave of artificial intelligence, least of all customer relationship management (CRM). In this landscape, CRM software providers are racing to integrate AI-driven features into their solutions.

Among them, French startup Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) has announced a €50M investment over the next five years to enhance its AI capabilities. As part of this initiative, the company has just inaugurated its new headquarters in Paris’s 17th arrondissement and is launching the “Brevo AI Lab” in the capital.

"This lab will accelerate the development of AI agents, enabling our clients to embrace ultra-personalised marketing," explains Armand Thiberge, founder and CEO of Brevo.

While Brevo plans to rely primarily on European AI models, such as those from Mistral AI, it is also looking at open-source models from outside France, including Meta’s Llama. "DeepSeek is also interesting," notes Thiberge, referring to the Chinese AI company that has been making waves in early 2024.

€179M in Annual Recurring Revenue in 2024

Beyond its increasing use of AI, Brevo has spent recent years expanding its scope. Originally focused on email marketing, the company has broadened its range of CRM-driven marketing services—including email, SMS, marketing automation, sales management, and chat tools—to better support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in their digital transformation.

At the same time, Brevo has launched new offerings tailored to large enterprises and mid-market clients, attracting major brands such as Carrefour, Louis Vuitton, H&M, and Doctolib.

"Our Enterprise offering has grown twice as fast as the rest of the group and now accounts for a quarter of our revenue," says Thiberge.
"This is part of the diversification strategy we launched three years ago to reposition the brand. That shift is now paying off, with growth across all segments."

This expansion has also been highly international, with 70% of Brevo’s revenue generated outside France. The company’s largest overseas markets are the United States (15%) and Germany (15%), both of which contributed to a 32% increase in organic growth last year.

In 2024, Brevo closed the year with €179M in annual recurring revenue (ARR), up from €142M in 2023. After achieving profitability in 2023, the company has continued strengthening its cash reserves.

“We love M&A”

Given its financial health, Brevo is not prioritising a new funding round—but it is keeping its options open. The company’s last major deal was a €140M leveraged buyout (LBO) in 2020.

"A new cycle will begin, probably with a new investor. That could happen in 2025 or 2026," Thiberge predicts.

If a new LBO takes place, Brevo could gain additional financial flexibility for further acquisitions. The company has already acquired multiple businesses in recent years, including MeetFox, Model, Octolis, Wonderpush, and Captain Wallet.

"We took a short break from acquisitions to focus on integrating the teams and technologies. Nothing is planned for 2025, but we love M&A and will definitely continue in the coming years," says Thiberge.

In a French Tech landscape that has recently been marked by uncertainty and budget cuts, Brevo stands out with a renewed sense of momentum—especially following last week’s AI Action Summit.