# Instant

> Instant is a Sydney-founded, AI-powered retention marketing platform for ecommerce brands. It identifies anonymous shoppers, recovers abandoned carts and sends AI-generated email and SMS at the moment of highest purchase intent. After starting life as a one-click checkout tool in 2021, Instant pivoted to retention marketing and grew fast - more than 1,500 direct-to-consumer brands now use it, and the company says its AI-driven flows have generated over $1 billion in incremental revenue.

- **Founded:** 2021
- **Headquarters:** Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- **Founders:** Liam Millward (Co-Founder & CEO), William Gao (Co-Founder & CTO)
- **Team size:** 79 (approx.)
- **Products:** Instant AI, Audiences, AI-Powered SMS, Retention Flows, Instant Labs
- **Notable:** Grew to 1,500+ DTC brands within roughly 12 months of relaunch, Reported over $1 billion in incremental revenue generated by its AI retention flows, Reached $1M ARR in under 70 days from its 2025 launch

## Products & services

- **Instant AI** — Generates personalized email copy based on each shopper's individual behavior and purchase history.
- **Audiences** — Boosts email opt-ins and retains customer data beyond cookie expiration to identify anonymous shoppers.
- **AI-Powered SMS** — Sends optimized SMS messages timed to peak purchase moments.
- **Retention Flows** — 11+ pre-built email flows including abandoned cart recovery, with dynamic product content and send-time optimization.
- **Instant Labs** — Continuous, automated A/B testing that optimizes campaigns without manual setup.
- **One-Click Checkout (legacy)** — The company's original 2021 product, reducing the average 17 clicks to complete an online purchase down to one.

## Achievements

- Grew to 1,500+ DTC brands within roughly 12 months of relaunch
- Reported over $1 billion in incremental revenue generated by its AI retention flows
- Reached $1M ARR in under 70 days from its 2025 launch
- 10x ARR growth over eight months
- Average customer ROI reported rising from 15x to 76x
- Raised an $18M Series A led by Hummingbird Ventures at a ~$100M valuation
- Secured strategic investment from HubSpot Ventures in 2026

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — Announced a strategic investment from HubSpot Ventures, pushing total funding past $30M as it reported 10x ARR growth in 8 months and 1,500+ brands.
- **2025-03** — Raised an $18M Series A led by Hummingbird Ventures at a ~$100M valuation to fund US expansion and product development.

## Links

- Website: https://instant.one
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/tryinstant
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/hinstant
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/Hinstant

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/instant
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-20