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Why tech giants like Google, Amazon are taking help from
this startup
BY ANU THOMAS & ASHUTOSH BHATTACHARYA, ECONOMICTIMES.COM | Post a Comment
UPDATED: JUL 21, 2017, 05.15 PM IST

When bigwigs like Google and Amazon begin to use the services of a seemingly
inconspicuous Indian startup, it may be time to sit up and take notice. Launched around
eight years ago, it offers cloud-based communications solutions to businesses in
emerging markets.

"Our platform uses AI to provide advanced telephony services to businesses," says CEO
and founder of Knowlarity, Ambarish Gupta. "It enables them to deliver highly
personalised messages to their customers while cutting down overall costs," he added.

Headquartered in Singapore, Knowlarity claims that over 15,000 businesses across India,
South-east Asia and the Middle East are currently using its services. In fact, Google and "Our platform uses AI to provide advanced telephony
Amazon notwithstanding, some of their key customers also include Uber, Practo, Ola, services to businesses," says CEO and founder of
Knowlarity, Ambarish Gupta.
Zomato and Swiggy, among others.

"We want to transform the business-to-customer communication industry in emerging Big Change:
The end of Five-Year Plans: All you need to know
markets using AI and analytics," adds Gupta.

Challenges galore
Knowlarity recently raised quite a bit of investment from a clutch of investors and VC firms including Sequoia Capital, Mayfield and Delta
Partners. Before raising $20 million last year, it had raised $6.6 million in Series A funding in 2012, followed by $16 million in Series B
two years later - bringing it to a total of $41 million.

But raising capital has admittedly been one of the toughest challenges of running a business, according to Gupta.
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"We got funds from friends and family back in 2009 when the investment landscape was quite dry," he says. "But if you have a good
understanding of why you started your company - you will always figure out the 'how' of raising capital to keep it afloat," he adds.

Watch: My Big Plunge featuring CEO and Founder of Knowlarity, Ambarish Gupta

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/entrepreneurship/why-tech-giants-like-google-amazon-are-taking-help-from-this-startup/printarticle/5969 1/3
7/21/2017 Why tech giants like Google, Amazon are taking help from this startup - The Economic Times

Tracking Knowlarity and its founder's journey on leading the clou

Discovering the best fit for your team and keeping them motivated, finding the first couple of customers and figuring out which product to
invest your time and energy in to are other challenges Gupta faced when he first started off with Knowlarity.

Taking the plunge

"We wanted to fail fast," says Gupta when probed about the success of his venture. "If there was something wrong in the product, we
wanted to figure it out quickly before it became too late," he adds.

According to Gupta, Knowlarity's people-centric approach sets it apart from others in the market. "Making an impact on customers is
incredibly important to us. If customers are happy, we get money. If they are not able to use our technology, then we fail," he says.

Employees are equally important and Gupta takes great trouble to bring together the best team. "We are very picky about who we bring
in - in fact, I interview everyone, including interns and spend almost 30% of my time handling recruitment," he says. "One should be
prepared for a very long and tiresome journey if they want to work for a startup or become an entrepreneur themselves - it is not for
people who wish to lead steady lives," he adds.

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