Cloud telephony start-up Exotel acquires voice recognition platform Croak.it

Acquisition to help Exotel strengthen its current offerings

In an attempt to strengthen its offerings, Bengaluru-based cloud telephony start-up Exotel has acquired social media startup Croak.it for an undisclosed amount. Croak.it was backed by Singapore’s Pix Venture Capitalists.

Started in 2012, Croak.it is a voice recognition-based social media platform, which will help Exotel provide voice recognition-based services in addition to asynchronous voice communication, Exotel’s Chief Executive Officer Shivakumar Ganesan said.

The acquisition, which comes close on heels of Exotel’s mobile application-based expansion plans, will aid Exotel to add mobile-integrated cloud telephony to its offerings. Set up in 2011, Exotel is a business-to-business (B2B) service that involves virtual telephoning. The company has a cloud-based software as a service (SaaS) model, and also involves data analytics, including tracking number of missed calls. Exotel’s clients include Ola Cabs, Zivame, Uber, RedBus, Groupon and CommonFloor, among others.

Started with a seed investment of Rs 13-14 lakh, Exotel had raised around $5,00,000 in angel funding from Blume Ventures and Mumbai Angel around two years ago. The company currently has presence across Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

The company today deals with over 60 million calls and has revenues of around $5 million a year. Growing at 10 per cent month-on-month, the company hopes to have a revenue of around $30 million in two years. The company is also looking to expand its presence to tier-II cities.

Ganesan said, Exotel is planning to accelerate growth plans, including full-fledged call centres, mobile applications and going international, especially across South Asia. The company will also look to hire more employees as part of its growth plans.