Gupshup Acquires AskSid, the Leading Conversational AI Platform for Ecommerce and Retail Companies

Acquisition strengthens Gupshup’s AI-powered conversational solutions for Ecommerce, Retail and Consumer Goods industries

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India & San Francisco, United States – Gupshup, a global leader in conversational engagement, announced today the acquisition of AskSid, a leading Conversational AI provider to top ecommerce and retail companies around the world. AskSid’s full-stack AI solution including the Retail AI brain, strengthens Gupshup’s customer experience (CX) offerings and will help make the entire shopping journey - across pre-purchase, purchase and post-purchase phases - fully conversational.

 
Headquartered in Bengaluru, AskSid is helping many global brands like AkzoNobel, Danone, Wolford, Akris and Himalaya Wellness deliver impactful shopping experiences to customers through AI-powered conversations, driving faster sales. The tech startup has operations in 25+ countries and supports over 100 languages. By automating 92% of support conversations with a self-service model, AskSid customers have reported an average 25% reduction in operational expenditure, while boosting order conversion rate by 30%.
 
“Conversational commerce is about to transform shopping, both online and offline. Gupshup is building the most comprehensive conversational commerce solution and AskSid’s deep-domain AI offering will help us bring even more advanced capabilities to ecommerce and retail businesses worldwide,” said Beerud Sheth, Co-founder and CEO, Gupshup. “We welcome the AskSid team onboard and look forward to collaborating with major brands across the world to enable next-gen shopping experiences.”
 
Per a recent report by McKinsey, ecommerce could grow up to 5x faster compared to pre-pandemic times. “This presents a huge opportunity for Retail and ecommerce brands - but only if they are able to provide expert guidance anytime, anywhere to their consumers, which is exactly what AskSid delivers,” said Sanjoy Roy, Co-founder and CEO, AskSid. “Together with Gupshup, we will help businesses drive richer conversational experiences.”
 
“We are very happy to join forces with Gupshup and look forward to helping more brands personalize their shopping experiences at scale,” said Dinesh Sharma, Co-founder and CTO, AskSid.
 
AskSid’s angel investors include well-known technology leaders Rajan Anandan (ex-Google), Krishnakumar Natarajan (ex-Mindtree), Parthasarathy NS (ex-Mindtree) and Radha R (ex-Microsoft and Mindtree). The AI startup is also backed by Techstars (first institutional investor in AskSid), a global seed accelerator that mentors some of the world’s most successful startups. 
 
"AskSid’s retail-specific models help global retail brands deliver impactful shopping experiences to their consumers. I am impressed with AskSid's powerful AI capabilities and their ability to acquire global brands so readily,” said Vijay Tirathrai, Managing Director at Techstars. “The merger with Gupshup is the next logical step and a great strategic fit as their deep vertical AI expertise in retail now gets augmented by Gupshup on a global scale in CPaaS and CX, delivering immense value to enterprise customers."

Shrenik Ghodawat conferred as the Food & Grocery Retail Icon of India 2022

KOLHAPUR, India -- Shrenik Ghodawat, MD - Star Localmart, the Retail arm of Sanjay Ghodawat Group (SGG), recently was conferred as the Food & Grocery Retail Icon of India at the Annual Golden Spoon Awards, organised by Images Group. He was honoured for being the driving force behind the inception of rural start-up Star Localmart - a locally sourced, locally processed, and locally sold grocery retail ecosystem.

Thanking the entire team of Images Group and Star Localmart, Shrenik said, "It is an absolute honour to be part of this illustrious list of stalwarts from the Retail sector. Our growth is a testament to the efforts and ingenuity of the entire Star Localmart family. I am proud and thrilled to witness such a response and acceptance by our customers. Throughout its growth, Star Localmart has remained true to its mission – to change and nurture the lives of consumers – one neighbourhood at a time. We hope to continue our commitment to elevating the retail experience for customers around the country. We plan to add 3000 stores by FY25 which will generate employment opportunities for over 25000 people."

With currently over 75 stores strategically placed across locations in Maharashtra and Karnataka, Star Localmart is living up to its novel idea of a 21st century retail franchise model by empowering local resources. The retail start-up aims to enhance the lives of consumers with great discounts, quality products, and excellent customer care that ensures an unparalleled experience. Its concept stands out since it generates local employment, space for local companies to exhibit their products and promoting local entrepreneurship.

Golden Spoon Award honours businesses for their outstanding achievements in business performance, marketing, retail growth, and innovation in Food & Grocery retail in India.

About Sanjay Ghodawat Group 

Sanjay Ghodawat Group (SGG) is a prominent Indian business conglomerate that has a presence in various high-value business verticals. Aviation, Consumer Products, Education, Energy, Mining, Realty, Retail, and Textiles are some of its key business domains. SGG was founded in 1993 and since then it has witnessed impressive growth under the splendid stewardship of its Founder and Chairman- Mr. Sanjay Ghodawat. It has a strong base of millions of customers globally, an employee strength of over 10,000, and a student base of over 16,000. SGG is moving ahead with great vigour and bringing significant changes in people's lives with its wide range of high-quality products and services.

For more information, please visit www.ghodawat.com