Chatbot platform Gupshup acquires Bengaluru customer service platform OneDirect

Conversational messaging startup Gupshup acquired Sequoia-funded OneDirect—an omnichannel customer-service platform—for an undisclosed amount. This is San Fransisco-based unicorn’s fifth investment since September. 

For Gupshup, OneDirect’s acquisition will enable better conversational engagement, with a flexible live Agent Assist solution, which can be scaled to thousands of agents with configurable workflows, integrations with existing customer relationship management, and helpdesk systems.

OneDirect offers artificial intelligence (AI)-based solution that allows businesses to manage all customer conversations across multiple channels, including SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram, and email, using a simple and unified Agent Dashboard interface.

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“OneDirect, with its proven leadership in helping leading brands transform omnichannel customer service, is a valuable addition to our conversational engagement platform,” said Beerud Sheth, Co-founder and CEO, Gupshup.

Founded in 2013 by Avinash Vankadaru and Vishrut Chalsani, Bengaluru-headquartered OneDirect has over 100 customers in banking, finance, retail, travel, and ecommerce, in more than five countries.  

“We are excited to join the Gupshup family and look forward to building more efficient and personalised conversational experiences. Gupshup’s advanced AI capabilities, combined with OneDirect's robust customer service and engagement platform, will provide businesses with the ability to reinvent the customer experience,” said Vishrut Chalsani, Co-founder and CEO, OneDirect. 

OneDirect's clients, many of whom overlap with those of Gupshup, include brands like Canara Bank, Tata Capital, SBI Card, PayTM, Whirlpool, Vistara, Indigo, and OYO, among others. It has processed over one billion customer interactions across 10 different languages. 

“Gupshup’s proven expertise and market leadership in the CPaaS (Communications Platform as a Service) space, and OneDirect’s truly omnichannel customer service platform is a winning combo for businesses looking to redefine digital customer experience (CX). This will help both companies unlock new growth opportunities and further scale their enterprise CX offerings,” said Bharat Singh, Operating Partner, Sequoia Capital. 

Earlier, Gupshup had acquired conversational tech companies AskSid and Active.Ai (April 2022), cloud communications startup Knowlarity (February 2022), and business messaging platform Dotgo (September 2021).

The unicorn had last raised $240 million last July in addition to the $100 million it had raised in April 2021.