Combining human, artificial intelligence to automate process

The start-up recently raised $2.1 million in its second round of funding

For most large-scale businesses like e-commerce platforms, processing unstructured data operations call for outsourcing. Claiming to be a first of its kind, the SaaS (software-as-a-service) start-up Squad combines human intelligence (HI) with artificial intelligence (AI) to break down the process in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

Data automation start-up SquadRun has raised $2.1 million in its second round of funding from Blume Ventures, Contrarian Capital, 91springboard, angel investors, and others. Besides, it has partnered Uber, Sephora, Tata group, Flipkart, and others.

Founded by Apurv Agrawal, Kanika Jain, and Vikas Gulati in 2014, the company uses artificial intelligence to automate most of the process; the rest is done by people. (Artificial intelligence is the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages.)

With a 32-member team, SquadRun uses internet to tap 75,000 people across India, the Philippines, Malaysia, Uganda, and Kenya, for their analytical skills. Above 18, these people earn Rs 100 per hour.  

The company reached break-even on the revenue front in June 2016. 

SquadRun chief executive Apurv Agrawal says, “The price varies according to the plan one chooses but it typically costs one-third to one-tenth less than in-house and outsourcing companies.” 

With over 88 per cent of user transactional data still unstructured, according to IDG, a data and marketing services firm, the field is expected to grow 10 times over the next five years. Thus, scaling up continues to be SquadRun’s biggest challenge. The company plans to grow in banking, telecom, insurance industries, and others, and aims to provide tools that save manual labour.