Gupshup Acquires Knowlarity for Boost to Cloud, AI Voice Solutions

Gupshup, which works in conversational engagement, has acquired cloud communications company Knowlarity, a press release says.

Knowlarity provides cloud telephony, AI-powered voice assistance and a speech analytics solution for customers.

The acquisition offers a new way to let Gupshup offer messaging, adding new ways to innovate in the fields of voice and video communication. It goes together with the company’s RCS (Rich Communications Services) and chatbot messaging.

The move to buy Knowlarity comes as it also recently bought Dotgo, which is one of the biggest RCS business messaging platforms.

The buy has reportedly gone forward for around $100 million.

Gupshup was valued at $1.4 billion and had recently raised $340 million from marquee global investors.

Recently, Gupshup has rolled out a solution to let businesses make digital storefronts via WhatsApp. The company said this would “help a business manage the complete buying experience on WhatsApp.”

Read more: Gupshup Unveils WhatsApp-Based eCommerce Tool

The solution will also make use of the company’s 1-click Bill Pay feature, which lets businesses connect payments through WhatsApp and other such platforms. The tool will let companies make a product catalog, use AI-powered chatbots to talk with customers, walk them through checkout and payments, and offer 24/7 customer support.

Customers are also able to add preferred items to their WhatsApp carts and enjoy real-time interactions with businesses. They can pay using Gupshup’s 1-click Bill Pay without leaving the site’s chat window.

“Many businesses already leverage WhatsApp for pre-purchase and post-purchase journeys, and with the newly available eCommerce features, they can now manage the entire buying journey for customers on the world’s most popular messaging app,” the company said.

CEO Beerud Sheth last year said the company wanted to focus more on “removing the mess” from messaging, and giving people the information they need only at the times they need it. Customers, he said, usually go to the platform because messaging is the easiest way to get a hold of customers via smartphones.