# Stefanos Loukakos

> Stefanos Loukakos is the Co-founder and CEO of Connectly.ai, a San Francisco-based AI conversational commerce platform that raised a $20M Series B led by Alibaba in September 2024, bringing total funding to $37.2M at ~$100M valuation. A native of Greece, he previously served as Head of Facebook Messenger Business and Director of Blockchain at Meta, and as Country Director of Google Greece. He built Connectly to let retailers sell through WhatsApp, Instagram, SMS, and web chat - turning customer messages into revenue.

- **Role:** Co-founder & CEO at Connectly.ai
- **Organizations:** Connectly.ai, Facebook (Meta), Google, Hellas Online, HeadSpin, Deutsche Telekom AG, HSBC Global Banking and Markets, Société Générale
- **From:** Greece
- **Nationality:** Greek
- **Education:** Full-time MBA, INSEAD, Master's degree in Engineering, Stanford University, Master's degree in Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
- **Known for:** Led Facebook Messenger Business globally, the B2B messaging unit connecting millions of businesses with customers, Built Connectly.ai to 300+ paying customers with 5x revenue growth in 2023, Secured Alibaba as lead investor in $20M Series B - one of the few Western AI startups to do so

## Career timeline

- **1999** — Quantitative Analyst at Société Générale
- **2001** — Senior Associate at HSBC Global Banking and Markets
- **2004** — Director of Finance & Strategy at Deutsche Telekom AG
- **2006** — CEO of Hellas Online, major Greek broadband/telecom operator
- **2010** — Country Director at Google Greece
- **2015** — Joined Facebook as SMB Director, EMEA (European headquarters)
- **2017** — Moved to US; became Head of Facebook Messenger Business and Director of Blockchain
- **2019** — SVP of Business at HeadSpin; discovered and reported fraudulent data claims by founder
- **2020** — Co-founded Connectly.ai with Yandong Liu (former CTO of Strava)
- **2021** — Connectly became WhatsApp Business Solutions Provider
- **2022** — Selected for Endeavor Greece Scale Up 4th Cohort
- **2023** — Raised $7.85M Series A (led by Volpe Capital); revenue grew 5x to $3.5M
- **2024** — Raised $20M Series B led by Alibaba; total funding $37.2M at ~$100M valuation

## Achievements

- Led Facebook Messenger Business globally, the B2B messaging unit connecting millions of businesses with customers
- Built Connectly.ai to 300+ paying customers with 5x revenue growth in 2023
- Secured Alibaba as lead investor in $20M Series B - one of the few Western AI startups to do so
- Co-founded Connectly with Yandong Liu (ex-Strava CTO) - built from zero to $37.2M raised in 4 years
- Was CEO of Hellas Online, one of Greece's major broadband operators
- Became Country Director of Google Greece, managing Google's business in the region
- Spoke out about HeadSpin fraud, providing a legal declaration that contributed to prosecution of founder Manish Lachwani
- Selected for Endeavor Greece's Scale Up program in 2022
- Helped pioneer WhatsApp as a commercial sales channel for D2C and e-commerce brands

## Latest updates

- **2024-09** — Connectly raised $20M Series B led by Alibaba, valuing company at ~$100M
- **2024-09** — Announced plan to grow team from 65 to nearly 80 employees
- **2024-09** — Projected 100% revenue growth for 2024, targeting ~$7M ARR
- **2023-10** — Raised $7.85M Series A led by Volpe Capital
- **2023-01** — Connectly reported 5x revenue growth in 2023, reaching $3.5M ARR

## Links

- Website: https://connectly.ai
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/sloukakos
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/ConnectlyAI
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xJtU7su-1s
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/connectlyai

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/stefanos-loukakos
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-11