Ask Me Anything: Freshdesk acquires Chatimity to strengthen AI capabilities in chat
Chatimity’s multipurpose AI-based bot, MITI, uses a combination of NLP and AI technologies to hold conversations across thousands of users in real-time
Freshdesk, a leading provider of cloud-based customer engagement software, has announced the acquisition of Chatimity, a social chat platform that has developed artificial intelligence (AI) and chatbot technology.
At Freshdesk, the Chatimity team will work toward enhancing the company’s live chat offerings.
“People want a fast, personalised response. Chat will play an important role in the future of communication for customer service but scaling that infrastructure continues to be a challenge,” said Girish Mathrubootham, Founder and CEO of Freshdesk. “With their focus on artificial intelligence and chatbots, the Chatimity team, now part of Freshdesk, has already started to create a scalable customer engagement chat platform that is future ready.”
The acquisition is the sixth in just over a year as Freshdesk looks to enhance product development and capabilities within the chat platform and beyond. In April this year, it had acquired social media-based customer service startup Airwoot.
In Photos: Freshdesk’s office in Chennai
Chatimity was founded in May 2011 by former Googlers Tarkeshwar Thakur and Aravind Murthy. They worked together on Google Music Search before starting Chatimity. The team was based out of Bangalore and was part of Google Startup Launchpad. It was also one of the early incubatees of the Global INcubation SERVices (GINSERV).
Scalable and personalised
Consumers expect a high level of connectivity and personal attention from businesses. With millions of people reaching out to businesses everyday, it is increasingly important for organisations of all sizes to engage with consumers directly, at scale, and with a personal touch.
Chatimity’s multipurpose AI-based bot, MITI, uses a combination of Natural Language Processing (NLP), state machines and Artificial Intelligence Markup Language (AIML) to hold conversations across thousands of users in real-time. The team has prototyped several interactive bots including one for a popular travel website.
Think of the bot as an ‘ask me anything’ travel agent: “What are best hotels in Hawaii with a swimming pool under US$200?” or “How far is my hotel from the airport?” are some of the questions that MITI can respond to immediately, helping consumers as they make travel decision. Many of those who have interacted with MITI believed that they were communicating with a real person.
Strong focus on AI
“Our team was able to get a glimpse of what Freshdesk was already working on, and we immediately knew that our team and technology would complement and accelerate product development at Freshdesk with a strong focus on AI and chat tech,” said Tarkeshwar Thakur, Co-founder and CEO of Chatimity. “Delivering a top-notch customer experience over chat continues to be a challenge for many companies, a problem we intend to solve with some of the next-gen chat products we are building at Freshdesk.”
Launched in 2010, Freshdesk’s suite of products include its flagship product, likewise named Freshdesk, which allows organizations to support customers through email, phone, websites, forums, and social media. It also runs Freshservice, a cloud-based service desk and IT service management solution; Hotline.io, an in-app support and engagement platform for mobile-first businesses; and Freshsales, a CRM solution and sales system for high-velocity sales teams.
With powerful features, an intuitive interface and a freemium pricing model, Freshdesk’s products are widely used by teams and companies of all sizes, from SMB to enterprise. Based in San Bruno, California, with offices in Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia and India, Freshdesk is backed by Tiger Global Management, Accel Partners, and Google Capital. The company has over 80,000 customers around the world including 3M, Honda, Bridgestone, Hugo Boss, and University of Pennsylvania.
—-
The post Ask Me Anything: Freshdesk acquires Chatimity to strengthen AI capabilities in chat appeared first on e27.
