4 days ago
Chiratae-backed Uniphore Technologies in talks to raise up to $250 million
Mumbai: Uniphore Technologies, the conversational automation startup backed by Chiratae Ventures and Iron Pillar, is in talks to raise $200–250 million in fresh capital, according to two people familiar with the matter.
'The company has had discussions with several investors, including US-based strategic players, to fund its expansion plans and increase investments in artificial intelligence (AI)," one of the people said.
The second person added that discussions on valuation are still underway, but the company is expected to see an uptick from the $2.5 billion valuation it secured in 2022.
'While we are seeing tremendous interest in our Business AI Cloud and are always engaging with potential strategic partners, we don't have anything to share at this time," a spokesperson for the company said.
The fundraising comes more than three years after Uniphore raised about $400 million in its Series E round in February 2022, bringing its total funding at the time to around $610 million. That round, led by New Enterprise Associates, also saw participation from March Capital and others, and valued the company at $2.5 billion.
Uniphore's other backers include 360 One, IIFL Finance, Sistema Asia, CXO Fund, ITP, Sorenson Capital Partners, the Patni family, and Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan.
In 2022, the company said it would use the proceeds to expand its technology and market leadership across voice AI, computer vision, and tonal emotion, while scaling business operations in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
The company reported revenue of ₹313.5 crore in FY24, down from ₹508.2 crore the previous year. Net profit fell to ₹4.9 crore from ₹142.8 crore in FY23, according to data from Tracxn. The company derives the bulk of its revenue from the US.
This comes amid a broader slowdown in the SaaS industry, marked by sluggish revenue growth and persistently high costs. As businesses reassess their AI spending, concerns around safety, security, and privacy have taken precedence, amplified by an uncertain global economic environment.
Demand for enterprise-grade conversational automation tools has surged in recent years, as companies seek to optimise costs while delivering seamless customer experiences.
Uniphore has made key acquisitions to strengthen its technology stack, including Emotion Research Lab for emotion AI capabilities, and Jacada for low-code/no-code solutions.
Founded in Chennai in 2008 by Umesh Sachdev and Ravi Saraogi, Uniphore offers a conversational automation platform that integrates conversational AI, workflow automation, and robotic process automation. The company has offices in the US, India, Spain, Israel, the UK, and the UAE, according to its website.
India's domestic AI market is projected to more than triple to $17 billion by 2027, according to a BCG report published last month. The country already accounts for 16% of the global AI talent pool—second only to the US—and is home to more than 600,000 AI professionals, a number expected to double to 1.25 million by 2027.
