Software-as-a-service firm Freshworks Inc has acquired US-based AnsweriQ Inc, a provider of intelligent automation for customer service.
The acquisition will improve the company’s customer self-service and free up agent time to handle more complex requests, Freshworks said in a statement. It didn’t disclose the financial details about the deal.
AnsweriQ complements Freshworks’ AI engine 'Freddy' by enabling large enterprises to fully leverage their existing customer data to scale self-service experiences and automate complex customer workflows.
Freddy will now be able to anticipate customer needs, make recommendations for agents based on the conversations and perform tasks such as refunds and cancellations with no manual input required.
As part of the deal, AnsweriQ CEO Pradeep Rathinam has joined the Freshworks' senior executive team as chief customer officer.
“Pradeep brings executive-level acumen and expertise, which will be leveraged in his new role as chief customer officer as we double-down on our efforts to engage and keep customers for life,” Girish Mathrubootham, CEO at Freshworks, said.
Seattle-headquartered AnsweriQ’s unique ML models leverage AI algorithms against millions of customer interactions to generate automated self-service Q&As and improve next-step escalations.
Freshworks, based in Chennai and San Mateo, California, has acquired at least 10 other companies to date. Its most recent takeover was that of US-based customer management platform Natero Inc. in May 2019.
It bought out marketing software startup Zarget in August 2017. Its other acquisitions include chatbot venture Joe Hukum, SaaS startup Pipemonk, social chat platform Chatimity and social media analytics venture Airwoot.
The company, founded in 2010, was initially known as Freshdesk before a rebranding exercise in 2017. The company says it has over 2700 employees at offices located across India, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany.
Last year in November, Freshworks raised $150 million in its Series H round led by existing investors. The transaction valued the company at $3.5 billion.
