In 2017, David Karandish and Chris Sims co-founded Capacity as part of the Equity.com incubator program, but their journey into the tech world started long before that. As teenagers, they launched their first company building web pages. Their entrepreneurial spirit didn't stop there—they went on to create an online fashion blog and developed a plug-in for AOL Instant Messenger that converted typed text into spoken speech. By the time they became college roommates, their days were consumed with innovation and hard work, even as they juggled demanding coursework from a "roach-y" apartment and later a house in Maplewood. It was clear early on that Karandish and Sims were determined to build something big.
After successfully selling Answers.com for $900 million, Karandish set his sights on tackling major blockers in customer service operations. He recognized the growing pressure on support teams to "do more with less" in the face of skyrocketing consumer expectations. This realization became the foundation for Capacity, an AI-powered support automation platform designed to streamline and improve customer service. Karandish's goal was simple yet ambitious: to offer a seamless customer experience where self-service was efficient, but escalation to a human would be smooth and effective when necessary.
Funding the Vision
Capacity’s journey began with a modest $1.2 million raised at its launch, which laid the groundwork for their innovative platform. Their seed round in January 2018 brought in an additional $3 million, led by Founder.org. By October 2020, Capacity had secured $11 million in a Series C funding round, bringing their total investment to $34 million. Fast-forward to January 2022, and an additional $27 million in Series C funding pushed the total to over $38 million. The company's most recent Series D round in October 2024 brought in more than $26 million, bringing their total funding raised to over $89 million.
