Tech entrepreneur Atul Jalan to take his AI company Algonomy public in 2023

His firm Manthan Software and San Francisco-headquartered RichRelevance have completed their merger to form a new, rebranded AI firm Algonomy

Bengaluru-based Manthan Software and San Francisco-headquartered tech company RichRelevance, have completed their merger to form a new, rebranded artificial intelligence company Algonomy. 

Algonomy allows customers such as Walmart, eBay, Burberry, Swarovski, Tiffany and McDonald’s to rapidly unify all customer data in a single platform for real-time AI-based decisions. 

“As we saw during the pandemic, our customers have seen the importance of being able to quickly pivot to become digital-first, and leverage AI to make quick decisions,” said Algonomy chief executive Atul Jalan, who previously served as Manthan Software's CEO. “Our algorithmic customer engagement (ACE) platform has the power to transform retailers into algorithmic businesses that are responsive to individual consumers, delivering the hyper-personalized experiences that drive sales and loyalty.”

The company declined to comment on the financial details of the transaction. RichRelevance, a leading experience personalization firm, had raised over $150 million from investors, according to the sources. People in the know said Manthan had offered a premium on the firm's valuation in the form of cash and stocks.

 

With Algonomy, retailers of all sizes can place ‘digital’ at the core of their business to orchestrate, personalize and activate customer journeys. These are designed to drive immediate engagement, lift and return on investment across the lifecycle. 

The retail industry has been forced to evolve rapidly. The digitally savvy retailers are pulling ahead thanks to their agility to respond to changing customer behaviours. But traditional retailers are struggling to overcome legacy systems and operational silos that thwart innovation.  

Algonomy was founded with the mission of using AI to power digital as the 'new normal' for consumer brands across the globe. A combination of ‘algorithms’ (algo) and ‘knowledge’ (nomy), the name Algonomy illustrates that the future of retail is algorithmic. The firm said the brands who are ‘digital-first’ and able to respond in real-time to changing market dynamics are poised to succeed.

Algonomy has more than 300 pre-built algorithms for the retail industry. It also has the ability to add custom algorithms and decisioning criteria, along with deep learning AI capabilities

“Algonomy offers the most robust, real-time machine learning solution built for the retail industry,” said Algonomy chief product officer, Sarath Jarugula, who previously served as the CEO of RichRelevance. “Rather than sifting through piles of data, retailers can harness machine learning to derive actionable insights, set strategies, and achieve goals, while retaining granular control of algorithmic behaviour.”

 

More than 400 leading retailers, consumer brands, quick-serve restaurant chains and convenience stores rely on Algonomy to eliminate the imprecision of manual decision-making.

“The future of retail is algorithms, and we are excited that Manthan and RichRelevance have taken a step in the right direction with Algonomy,” said Mark Chrystal, chief analytics officer at Rue21, an American speciality retailer of women's casual apparel and accessories, and a customer of Algonomy. “We feel confident that with the deep retail domain experience and actionable algorithms that Algonomy brings to the table, we will be able to drive better results for our customers at Rue21 during times of disruption.’

Algonomy’s Jalan said the coronavirus pandemic has put the whole the digital transformation of organisations on “steroids” and businesses like Algonomy are beneficiaries of it. Jalan is a prolific technology entrepreneur, having set up three earlier ventures — including MicroTrack, Cybertrek Technologies and Netkraft. Netkraft was bought by US-based business process and technology consulting services Adea Solutions in 2004. Jalan said that he is looking at an initial public offering (IPO) of Algonomy by the year 2023 at the American stock exchange Nasdaq. The company is also scouting for a few acquisitions and plans to raise funding.

“Raising funds, strengthening my leadership team in the US  and looking for acquisitions,  is all preparatory work towards that (IPO),” said Jalan.