Freshworks Acquires AnsweriQ

Freshworks, a customer engagement software company, has acquired AnsweriQ, a provider of artificial intelligence-based customer service solutions for larger enterprises. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

AnsweriQ complements Freshworks' AI engine, Freddy, by enabling companies to leverage existing customer data to scale self-service experiences and automate complex customer workflows. AnsweriQ's machine learning models leverage AI algorithms against millions of customer interactions to generate automated self-service Q&As and improve next-step escalations.

Freddy will incorporate AnsweriQ's AI to learn from ticket data and agent actions within the Freshworks Customer-for-Life Cloud. Freddy will extend its capabilities from a knowledge base-dependent AI engine to learn from ticket conversations on the fly. Freddy will 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.

AnsweriQ CEO Pradeep Rathinam will serve as chief customer officer at Freshworks.

"Unlike clunky, siloed, legacy SaaS solutions, Freshworks is innovating to deliver a powerful and seamless experience across sales, marketing, customer success, and support functions," Rathinam said in a statement. "With Freshworks' commitment to deploying enterprise-scale AI to better understand customers and build relationships for life, this acquisition is a natural fit. I'm excited to join Freshworks as their new chief customer officer as we create delightful experiences for enterprises that use our products worldwide."

"The integration of AnsweriQ's technology enhances our AI/ML capability in the customer engagement space and offers significant value to our customers," said Girish Mathrubootham, Freshworks' founder and CEO, in a statement.

The AnsweriQ acquisition is Freshworks' second in less than a year, following its May acquisition of Natero, a provider of predictive analytics, customer intelligence, and workflow management. It also comes on the heels of nearly 60 percent year-over-year growth for Freshworks, which now has more than 2,700 employees working in 13 offices around the world. The company recently closed $150 million in funding that put it at a post-financing valuation of >$3.5 billion.