Helpshift raises $23 mn from MS Ventures, Salesforce Ventures

Helpshift Inc, a startup that makes software for customer engagement on mobile devices, has raised USD 23 million (about Rs 153.4 crore) funding from Microsoft Ventures and Salesforce Ventures.
The Series B also saw participation from existing investors like Intel Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, True Ventures and Visionnaire Ventures.
To date, Helpshift has raised USD 36.2 million. It had earlier raised USD 13.2 million from Intel Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, True Ventures and Visionnaire Ventures.
Founded in 2012 in Pune, Helpshift is now headquartered in California, US.
"Consumers are tired of waiting for support agents to get back to them, and companies are tired of staffing expensive support teams to answer common, or even predictable, problems in the first place. People want immediate help, wherever they are, especially when using mobile applications," Helpshift CEO and co-founder Abinash Tripathy said.

Some of its customers include Zynga, Virgin Media, Microsoft, Western Union, Flipboard, Shyp, Luxe and WordPress.

"Businesses everywhere are moving away from email and embracing intuitive in-app support as the future. Our new financing will help fuel our continued expansion across teams in R&D, sales and marketing," Tripathy said.
Helpshift, which operates on a software-as-a-service model, also companies to identify their most heavy users, those that significantly spend on their apps, and target them with better support and offers.
"Helpshift has been a great partner for Microsoft and our investment today represents our confidence in their messaging-based approach to customer service, as we hold a shared value of providing the seamless experience customers want," Microsoft Ventures corporate vice president Nagraj Kashyap said.

Helpshift's support platform includes native functionality like in-app FAQs, in-app chat, a full CRM ticketing system, in-app campaigns and in-app surveys, making it easy for companies to provide customer support experience on any device.