Levitate has raised $16 million in a new funding round, bringing the company’s total capital raised to $71 million since its founding. The round was led by Harbert Growth Partners, with participation from Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures and Bull City Venture Partners.

The Raleigh based company builds AI powered tools designed for businesses that depend on long term client relationships. Its platform is already used by more than 8,000 businesses, helping them maintain regular contact with clients and prospects without sacrificing the personal tone that relationship driven industries rely on.

Why Relationship Marketing Is Becoming a Technology Problem

For many small and mid sized businesses, staying visible to clients is harder than ever. Financial advisors, insurance brokers, real estate professionals, and nonprofit teams often depend on regular outreach to maintain trust and referrals. Yet consistent communication across thousands of contacts can quickly become overwhelming.

“Our original thesis was simple: AI should help relationship-based businesses become more consistent, more thoughtful, and more scalable in how they show up for their clients. This investment allows us to build more tools that make AI practical and accessible for small businesses, while continuing to strengthen the Service-as-Software experience our customers rely on.”

Jesse Lipson, Founder and CEO of Levitate.

Levitate positions its platform as a solution to that challenge. The software uses AI and automation to help businesses manage outreach across email, social media, text messaging, and other channels while keeping messages personalized. The goal is simple: allow businesses to scale communication without turning every interaction into generic marketing.

Where the New Capital Will Go

The newly raised capital will primarily support Levitate’s AI development roadmap. The company plans to expand both internal machine learning capabilities and customer facing tools designed to simplify relationship marketing for smaller organizations.

This includes improvements to automation features, smarter targeting tools, and additional AI driven workflows that help users manage communication across multiple channels without increasing workload.

Levitate will also continue expanding its Service as Software model, a hybrid approach that combines software automation with strategic guidance. Instead of simply providing a platform, the company pairs technology with coaching and support designed to help customers achieve measurable marketing results.

Expanding Teams and Market Reach

Beyond product development, Levitate intends to grow its sales and customer success teams across the United States and Canada. The company expects the expansion to support a broader group of relationship focused businesses that depend on long term client engagement.

By investing in both technology and human support teams, Levitate aims to strengthen its position in industries where consistent communication drives growth and referrals.

Inside the Company Behind the Platform

Levitate was founded in 2017 by entrepreneur Jesse Lipson with the idea that AI could support personal communication rather than replace it. The company focuses on industries where trust and long term relationships drive business growth.

Its platform, sometimes referred to as the Happiness Platform, offers tools that allow businesses to manage client communication in one place. Users can send personalized emails at scale, publish social media posts, manage online reviews, send surveys and invitations, schedule meetings, and even send handwritten cards.

The software also helps teams track key details about contacts, maintain blogs and websites, and stay in regular touch with clients through automated but personalized outreach. The result is a marketing workflow designed to feel less like advertising and more like genuine relationship building.

Investors and Funding History

The latest funding round highlights continued investor interest in AI tools designed for small and mid sized businesses. Harbert Growth Partners led the round, joined by Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures and Bull City Venture Partners.

With this investment, Levitate’s total funding now reaches $71 million, providing additional capital to expand its product development, team, and market presence across North America.

Origianl Creator: Paulo Palma
Original Link: https://justainews.com/companies/funding-news/levitate-secures-16m-to-scale-relationship-ai-tools/
Originally Posted: Thu, 05 Mar 2026 16:15:33 +0000