Klaviyo, Inc.
Company History
Klaviyo History: Founding, Growth & Key Milestones
Founded 2012 in Boston, Massachusetts
When was Klaviyo founded?
Klaviyo was founded in 2012 in Boston, Massachusetts by Andrew Bialecki and Ed Hallen, making it 14 years old.
- Founded
- 2012
- Founding place
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Founders
- Andrew Bialecki and Ed Hallen
- Headquarters today
- Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- Milestones documented
- 6 (2012–2026)
- Current CEO
- Andrew Bialecki & Chano Fernández (co-CEOs)
- Acquisitions
- 4
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2012 | Klaviyo Founded in Boston |
| 2021 | $320 million Series D at a $9.15 billion valuation |
| 2022 | Strategic Partnership with Shopify |
| 2023 | NYSE IPO (KVYO) |
| 2025 | Revenue Passes $1 Billion |
| 2026 | Co-CEO Structure and AI Agents |
- Where was Klaviyo founded?
- Klaviyo was founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 2012.
- Who founded Klaviyo?
- Klaviyo was founded by Andrew Bialecki and Ed Hallen.
- When did Klaviyo start?
- Klaviyo was founded in 2012.
- How old is Klaviyo?
- Klaviyo is 14 years old as of 2026.
Founding Story
In 2012 Andrew Bialecki and Ed Hallen, who had met through Boston's software scene, saw that online stores knew what each visitor browsed and bought but used almost none of it in their marketing. They built a database designed to store customer events and act on them, then connected it to email. Early Shopify merchants found that automated abandoned-cart and post-purchase emails paid for themselves quickly, and the product spread through word of mouth and agencies.
Founders
Andrew Bialecki
Andrew Bialecki co-founded Klaviyo in 2012 and has led it since, taking it through its 2023 NYSE IPO and past $1 billion in annual revenue in 2025. Since January 1, 2026 he has served as co-CEO alongside Chano Fernández, focusing on product, engineering and long-term vision. Andrew Bialecki was born in 1986.
Ed Hallen
Ed Hallen co-founded Klaviyo in 2012 alongside Andrew Bialecki. Drawing on his deep background in data analytics, he helped architect the core premise of the company: that e-commerce marketing shouldn't be based on guessing, but on directly reading massive amounts of customer transaction data. He helped build the highly advanced database architecture that made Klaviyo indispensable for Shopify merchants. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Key Milestones
Klaviyo Founded in Boston
Andrew Bialecki and Ed Hallen founded Klaviyo to connect customer behavior data with email marketing.
Source: en.wikipedia.org$320 million Series D at a $9.15 billion valuation
Klaviyo raised $320 million in May 2021 in a round led by Sands Capital, with Accel and Summit Partners participating, valuing the company at $9.15 billion.
Source: summitpartners.comStrategic Partnership with Shopify
Shopify and Klaviyo announced a strategic partnership that included a Shopify investment in Klaviyo.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgNYSE IPO (KVYO)
Klaviyo listed on the New York Stock Exchange in September 2023 at $30 per share.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgRevenue Passes $1 Billion
Full-year revenue reached $1.234 billion, up 32%, and Klaviyo repositioned as a B2C CRM.
Source: businesswire.comCo-CEO Structure and AI Agents
Chano Fernández became co-CEO on January 1; Q2 revenue hit $370.6 million and Klaviyo agreed to acquire Agency.
Source: investors.klaviyo.comMajor Acquisitions
Agency (team and technology)
2026Agreement announced in August 2026 to acquire the team and technology of Agency, an AI-native customer success company; its co-founder and CEO Elias Torres is to become Klaviyo's Chief Product Officer after closing.
Agency
2026AI-native customer success startup.
Gatsby
2025Social automation platform.
Napkin.io
2022Browser-based code deployment for developers.
Keep researching Klaviyo
Klaviyo Company History FAQ
When and where was Klaviyo founded?
Klaviyo was founded in 2012 in Boston, Massachusetts, by Andrew Bialecki and Ed Hallen, starting as a bootstrapped startup developing event-driven analytics software for digital businesses.
How did Klaviyo pivot to e-commerce marketing automation in 2014?
In 2014, recognizing large demand from Shopify store owners who lacked sophisticated marketing tools, Klaviyo launched its dedicated Shopify integration, focusing 100% of its product roadmap on e-commerce email marketing automation.
When did Klaviyo launch Klaviyo SMS to become a multi-channel platform?
In 2020, Klaviyo launched native SMS and MMS marketing, allowing merchants to unify email and text messaging in a single workflow, which dramatically expanded average revenue per customer.
When did Klaviyo launch its Customer Data Platform (CDP) and Klaviyo Reviews?
In 2023, Klaviyo expanded its software suite by launching the enterprise Klaviyo Customer Data Platform (CDP) for advanced audience analytics and Klaviyo Reviews for user-generated product reviews.
When did Klaviyo complete its Initial Public Offering on the NYSE?
On September 20, 2023, Klaviyo completed its Initial Public Offering on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol 'KVYO', raising over $576 million at an initial market valuation exceeding $9 billion.
What has changed at Klaviyo in 2025-2026?
Klaviyo passed $1 billion in revenue in 2025, rebranded as a B2C CRM, appointed Chano Fernández co-CEO from January 2026, and launched AI products such as Composer and Customer Agent.
How did Klaviyo start?
Klaviyo was founded in 2012 by Andrew Bialecki and Ed Hallen in Boston. They noticed a massive flaw in the e-commerce industry: existing email platforms (like Mailchimp) only had basic lists of names and emails. They couldn't actually "see" what a customer bought. Bialecki built Klaviyo as a highly advanced database first, allowing merchants to send emails triggered by very specific customer behaviors (like abandoning a cart with a specific size shoe).
Related Strategic History
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