Messaging platform Akosha raises Series B fund from Sequoia

Akosha, a messaging platform for all consumer-to-business interactions has raised Rs.100 crore Series B round of funding from Sequoia. This new round of financing will be used to hire over 200 software engineers and product managers to build out the platform, and fund the growth of Akosha’s new mobile app for connecting users and businesses.

Akosha will use this fund to expand its software engineering teams, accelerate product development, and invest in growing its user base. Akosha’s expects to add 400-500 people to its team this year.

In 2010, Akosha pioneered the model of a single destination for consumers to connect with any large businesses. Akosha handles 30,000 plus consumer inquiries every day over the web, telephone and its Android chat app. Akosha monetizes these inquiries by providing Akosha’s enterprise software OneDirect to brands. Brands are able to leverage Akosha’s software to have a fast and personalized interactions with their consumers.

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“Over 130 large brands use Akosha’sOneDirect platform to respond to consumer inquiries every week. Around 30 of these enterprises have become paying customers who subscribe to a premium version of the OneDirect Enterprise Suite. Kotak Mahindra Bank, Voltas, Aircel, Snapdeal, Micromax and Makemytrip are some of the leading brands currently using Akosha OneDirect enterprise solutions,” said the company’s official release.

140,000 users have downloaded Akosha’s new android app in just 4 months with an average rating of 4.5. Consumers use the Akosha app for product discovery, pricing information, discounts, customer service, booking appointments, travel research and so on. Currently, the app supports more than 18,000 chat sessions per day and have been growing 20-25 per cent week-on-week.

Over the last year, the company has grown its employee base from 180 to well over 300 and recently opened a technology and product office in Bangalore. Akosha was co-founded by Ankur Singla, a National Law School, Bangalore graduate.

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Ankur Singla, CEO, Akosha, said, “We started 4 years ago to help consumers with post purchase issues. With the growth of mobile, we aim at building a messaging platform for all interactions between consumers and businesses including discovery, buying, appointments and customer service. We hope to be doing 100,000 customer interactions/day within 3 months. But I think we’re just getting started. We are confident that in the near future, Akosha chat will be a competitive customer service differentiator for businesses.”

Shailendra Singh, MD, Sequoia Capital India Advisors said, “We have always believed in the thesis that consumers need a better way to interact with businesses. We are inspired by Ankur’s vision for becoming a single destination on the smartphone for users to interact with hundreds of businesses and online services. We are delighted to lead our third round of investment in Akosha, starting with a $200,000 seed investment in 2011.”