elfo
elfo is a Kuala Lumpur-based omnichannel business messaging and AI voice platform offering A2P SMS, WhatsApp API, VoIP/SIP trunking, AI virtual receptionists, and white-label services to enterprises, government agencies, telcos, and partners across Southeast Asia.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersKuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What elfo does
elfo is a Kuala Lumpur-headquartered omnichannel business messaging and AI voice platform founded in 2017, operating as elfo Sdn. Bhd. in Malaysia with regional presence across Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and the United States. The company provides a suite of communication products including A2P bulk SMS, WhatsApp Business API, multichannel messaging, VoIP/SIP trunking with international voice termination across 150+ countries, and AI-powered virtual receptionists (elfo AI Agents) with NLP, multilingual support in 50+ languages, custom voice cloning, and CRM deep-sync into Salesforce, HubSpot, and GoHighLevel. An email marketing automation platform (elfoMAP) and a white-label platform for partners to resell messaging and voice services under their own brand extend the offering.
elfo serves enterprise customers, government agencies, telecommunications operators, real estate agencies, healthcare providers, and white-label resellers. Notable customers include DAPAT Vista (350+ Malaysian government organizations, 17M+ SMS traffic), FGV Holdings (98.9% SMS deliverability), Shaklee (95% delivery, ~80,000 SMS/month), Time dotCom, SOGO, Ekomas, Mimpikita, and Sri Kota Specialist Medical Centre. Documented performance metrics include 99.8% uptime SLA on voice, ASR 40-65%, ACD >2.5 minutes, and PDD <5 seconds on the voice routing stack.
Revenue is generated through a mix of usage-based A2P messaging, subscription/recurring voice services (SIP trunking, DID numbers, AI voice agent platform licensing), white-label platform licensing, and professional services (digital marketing). The go-to-motion blends direct enterprise sales with a partner/reseller channel and a self-serve trial (approximately 50 SMS credits, no credit card required) for SMBs. Strategic partnerships include Celcom (international brands SMS aggregator), respond.io (first Malaysian partner), ActiveCampaign (first certified consultant in Malaysia), and Forest Interactive (MWC Barcelona 2022). The company is privately held, founder-led (Director Johary Mustapha; General Manager Sri Yosephin; Product Marketing Manager Mohd Yasir), reports no institutional funding rounds or acquisitions, and operates with 51-100 employees.
elfo firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- elfo
- Legal name
- elfo Sdn. Bhd.
- Website
- https://elfo.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- elfo is a Kuala Lumpur-based omnichannel business messaging and AI voice platform offering A2P SMS, WhatsApp API, VoIP/SIP trunking, AI virtual receptionists, and white-label services to enterprises, government agencies, telcos, and partners across Southeast Asia.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
elfo industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Business Messaging and Communications Platform
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132)
- SIC
- Radiotelephone Communications (4812), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Telegraph & Other Message Communications (4822), Services-Telephone Interconnect Systems (7385)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Contact Center Speech AI (agent assist, IVR automation) (HDAAAFAL)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Sales Support & Customer Retention (Upsell, Win-back, Loyalty) (BPAAABAB)
Keywords
Where elfo is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Kuala Lumpur
- HQ country
- Malaysia
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices2 records
Markets served
elfo business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- A2P Messaging Services: Application-to-Person SMS services including OTP delivery, marketing campaigns, and critical alerts. Revenue generated through message volume and usage-based pricing.
- Voice Services (VoIP/SIP): Wholesale and enterprise voice solutions including SIP trunking, international voice termination, and DID numbers. Revenue from call termination rates and monthly number rentals.
- AI Voice Agent Platform: AI-powered virtual receptionist services with enterprise deployment capabilities. Platform licensing for partners and agencies.
- White-Label Platform Licensing: Technology and infrastructure licensing enabling partners to offer messaging and voice services under their own brand.
- Professional Services: Digital marketing agency services including SEO, ads, email marketing (elfoMAP), and SMS marketing campaign management.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free Trial - Entry level with limited SMS credits |
| Usage-based | Monthly | Custom Enterprise Packages |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
elfo product offering
Product offeringCore offering
elfo provides an omnichannel business messaging and AI voice platform for enterprises, governments, and resellers. Its core offerings include A2P bulk SMS and WhatsApp Business API messaging, enterprise VoIP services (SIP trunking, international voice termination, DID numbers), AI-powered virtual receptionist voice agents, and a white-label platform that enables partners to resell communication services under their own brand.
Product overview
elfo is an omnichannel business messaging and AI voice solutions provider offering a suite of communication products. The core offering consists of A2P Messaging (SMS broadcasting, OTP, marketing campaigns), WhatsApp API, Multichannel Messaging, Voice Services (VoIP, SIP trunking, DID numbers), and AI Agents (voice AI virtual receptionist). The elfoMAP platform provides email marketing automation. The A2P White Label Platform enables partners to resell messaging services under their own brand. All products are designed for enterprise scalability with API integrations to CRM systems like Salesforce, HubSpot, and GoHighLevel.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- elfoMAP: Email marketing automation platform with drag-and-drop editors, landing pages, and marketing automation workflows.
- elfoA2P
- elfo AI Agents
Products and services
- elfo A2P Messaging Application-to-Person bulk SMS messaging platform enabling businesses to send critical alerts, OTPs, and marketing campaigns. Supports SMS broadcasting, two-way SMS services, and SMS API integration for enterprises.
- elfo A2P White Label Platform White-label messaging and voice platform enabling partners, agencies, and enterprises to offer communication services under their own brand. Provides complete infrastructure and technology to build a communication business.
- elfo WhatsApp API WhatsApp Business API integration enabling businesses to engage customers through WhatsApp messaging, part of elfo's omnichannel messaging suite.
- elfo Multichannel Messaging Omnichannel messaging service integrating SMS, WhatsApp, and other messaging channels into a unified platform for seamless business-to-customer communication.
- elfo Voice Services Enterprise-grade VoIP solutions including SIP trunking, international voice termination, and DID numbers. Built on telecom expertise with 99.8% uptime SLA, global coverage across 150+ countries, and fraud protection.
- elfo AI Agents AI-powered virtual receptionist providing 24/7 automated voice call handling using conversational AI for call qualification, routing, auto-scheduling, and multilingual support across 50+ languages with CRM integrations.
- elfoMAP Email marketing automation platform with drag-and-drop email editors, marketing automation workflows, lead generation tools, landing pages, signup forms, webinar hosting, live chat, and analytics.
Quantifiable outcome
- 98.9% SMS deliverability achieved for FGV Holdings
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use elfo
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
elfo technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
AI capability7 records
Feature5 records
elfo partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- ActiveCampaigncoreelfo recognized as ActiveCampaign's First Official Certified Consultant in Malaysia for Email Marketing Automation. Global partnership positioning elfo as certified expert for customer experience automation.
- respond.iocoreelfo officially recognized as First Malaysian Partner for respond.io, expanding social commerce market with comprehensive one-stop customer relationship management platform. elfo's Omnichannel Messaging Services empowered by respond.io's customer engagement features.
- Sri Kota Specialist Medical CentreminorSri Kota Specialist Medical Centre continued digital partnership with elfo after successful year of continuous growth for social media profiles. Goal: improving engagement across social media platforms.
- CelcomcoreCelcom appointed elfo as a new partner for Malaysia International Brands SMS. elfo serves as one of Celcom's international brands bulk aggregators, bridging wholesaler gap in APAC market.
- Forest Interactivecoreelfo and Forest Interactive co-hosted at MWC Barcelona 2022, playing host to mobile operators and attendees. Both companies paved the way at 2022 MWC Barcelona with Malaysia's leading mobile operators.
Scale indicators14 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
elfo competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Twilio: Global CPaaS leader offering A2P SMS, voice/SIP trunking, and WhatsApp Business API to enterprises. Closest direct competitor to elfo's messaging and voice platform, with much larger scale and global footprint.
- Sinch: Swedish-headquartered CPaaS provider with strong APAC presence in A2P messaging, voice, and conversational AI. Directly comparable to elfo's omnichannel communications platform across product and customer overlap.
- Infobip: Omnichannel CPaaS platform with particular strength in emerging markets including Southeast Asia. Competes with elfo across SMS, WhatsApp, voice, and AI-powered customer engagement for enterprise customers.
- MessageBird (Bird): Omnichannel messaging platform providing SMS, WhatsApp, voice, and AI agent capabilities to enterprises globally. Closely comparable to elfo's combined messaging, voice, and AI offering.
- Vonage: CPaaS and UCaaS provider (now part of Ericsson) offering SIP trunking, voice, messaging, and AI communications APIs. Directly comparable to elfo's voice services and messaging stack.
- Plivo: Cloud communications platform providing A2P SMS, voice, and WhatsApp Business APIs to enterprises. Closely comparable mid-sized competitor in the same messaging and voice infrastructure space.
- respond.io: Malaysia-based omnichannel customer messaging platform supporting WhatsApp, Messenger, SMS, and other channels. Direct competitor to elfo in the Malaysian and SEA market — also an elfo partner.
Emerging players
- Vapi: Emerging AI voice agent platform enabling developers and businesses to deploy conversational voice AI for inbound/outbound calls. Direct emerging competitor to elfo's AI Voice Agents product line.
Regional players
- CelcomDigi: Malaysia's largest mobile network operator (formed from Celcom-Digi merger) and a key elfo channel partner for A2P termination. As a regional telecom incumbent, it controls carrier interconnect economics critical to elfo's messaging business.
Broad incumbents
- 8x8: Established global provider of voice, contact center, and UCaaS solutions. Broader incumbent offering overlapping with elfo's voice services and AI-enabled call handling, serving enterprise customers at larger scale.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
elfo social profiles
Digital presenceelfo compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
elfo financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
elfo leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
elfo funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
elfo M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about elfo
What does elfo do?
elfo provides an omnichannel business messaging and AI voice platform for enterprises, governments, and resellers. Its core offerings include A2P bulk SMS and WhatsApp Business API messaging, enterprise VoIP services (SIP trunking, international voice termination, DID numbers), AI-powered virtual receptionist voice agents, and a white-label platform that enables partners to resell communication services under their own brand.
Is elfo a public or private company?
elfo is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was elfo founded?
elfo was founded in 2017. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is elfo based?
elfo is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in the Asia region.
How does elfo make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. A2P Messaging Services are the primary driver. The others are voice Services (VoIP/SIP), AI Voice Agent Platform, white-Label Platform Licensing and professional Services.
Who are elfo's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Twilio, Sinch, Infobip, MessageBird (Bird), Vonage, Plivo and respond.io. Vapi is listed as an emerging player. CelcomDigi is listed as a regional player. 8x8 is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does elfo have an API?
Yes. elfo offers SMS APIs that enable integration with business systems. The SMS API allows clients to send high-volume SMS messages, integrate with CRM software (ProDesk, ProMpt, ProILMS), implement two-factor authentication, and send notifications. APIs are described as easy-to-use for connecting existing CRM and business workflows.
What industry is elfo in?
elfo's product category is Business Messaging and Communications Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAAAFAL, Contact Center Speech AI (agent assist, IVR automation), with a secondary code of BPAAABAB, Sales Support & Customer Retention (Upsell, Win-back, Loyalty). Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 4812.