AI-based IT job scheduling startup Licorice raises $1.8 million

AI scheduling startup Licorice has raised $1.8 million as it looks to put an end to the dreaded IT ticket.

The Adelaide startup’s backers were not disclosed. The funds are earmarked to accelerate software development and expand its go-to-market strategy globally.

Licorice is looking to transform IT services by replacing the “tickets” system for recording client tasks, with an AI that automatically matches an incoming request to the right engineer, calculates the time required for the task, and lets the customer select an appointment in an online calendar.

Already more than 1,200 IT services professionals in six countries have signed up as Licorice’s first customers.

The software service is designed to integrate with dozens of IT support platforms in a market worth more than $1 trillion.

Licorice founder Samantha Glocker said people should think of it like the Apple Genius Bar, but for any industry with a complex customer support business model.

The problem, she says, is the the current model for triaging support is “like standing in a checkout queue where everyone can cut in front of you,” so you don’t know when you’ll be served.

“In the world of IT tickets, the most urgent jobs are triaged to the top of the list while less critical tasks are shuffled down the pack, and that’s where over 30 percent of revenue is lost in IT companies,” she said.

“Using Licorice, there are no more jobs slipping through the cracks, no more manual time entry, often from memory, no more endless back-and-forth to book time with the right person. Billables are calculated automatically.”

She founded her startup in 2018 to develop the world’s first cloud-based AI scheduling platform. Licorice now also has an offices in Houston, Texas.

Glocker’s own experience with IT support led her to conclude it can be error-prone and costly.

“Using Licorice, clients know when their issue will be addressed, and who will be doing the work , which in turn reduces pressure on IT workers in one of the most stressful jobs in the world,” she said.

“Now they can know the layout of their day before they arrive at work, and go home with a sense of satisfaction knowing what they’ve accomplished.”

Glocker said she’s now looking at a further capital raise in mid-2022 to ramp up her global ambitions.

“Every integration we make, whether that’s with an IT services platform like ConnectWise or ServiceNow, or a Zoom or Slack add-on, increases our market penetration exponentially,” she said.