Microsoft acquires SaaS startup Ally.io to help employees embrace 'new normal'

Microsoft has acquired Ally.io, a SaaS startup headquartered in Seattle with a centre in Chennai, and founded by Vetri Vellore for an undisclosed value.

A blog post by Microsoft quoting Kirk Koenigbauer, COO and Corporate VP, Experiences + Devices, said, “Ally.io, a leading OKR (objectives and key results) company, will join the Microsoft Viva family as part of our employee experience platform (EXP) designed to help companies embrace the new digital work life.”

Founded in 2017, Ally has built a technology platform in the space of goal setting and business execution software or what is commonly called as Objectives and Key Results (OKR) segment.

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The blog post stated that OKR is a fast growing and emerging space and since the launch of Ally.io in 2018, it has been adopted by over 1,000 leading high-tech, manufacturing, financial services, and healthcare businesses across more than 80 countries.

“Ally.io will power a new Microsoft Viva module. Viva is an employee experience platform that brings together communications, knowledge, learning, resources and insights – from anywhere you work,” the blog post noted.

In the next one year, Microsoft will be making investments to integrate Ally.io into its cloud, Teams, Viva, Office, Power BI, and a broader set of 365 apps and services.

On being part of Microsoft, Ally.io founder & CEO Vetri Vellore said, “Our mission and focus on delighting customers remains the same, while our ability to scale that mission will increase dramatically as we become a key component of the Microsoft Viva platform. As a part of Viva, we’re excited to continue shaping the future of work, now with the power of the most important technology company in the business sector behind us.”

Earlier in February, Ally.io had raised a funding of $50 million in Series C round. Its key investors include Lee Fixel’s Addition Ventures, Tiger Global, Accel, Greenoaks Capital, etc. The startup had cumulatively raised $76 million.