Messaging platform Gupshup makes foray into UAE after $1.4bn valuation

The San Francisco-based start-up enables conversations across 30 messaging channels using a single software interface

Gupshup will use Dubai as a springboard to fuel its regional expansion. Getty

Conversational messaging platform Gupshup is entering the Middle East market with an office in Dubai after raising $240 million in July that valued the company at more than $1.4 billion.

The San Francisco-based company, which has offices in India and the US, aims to “rapidly expand its customer base” and enter new markets in the Middle East within the next two years.

“A large number of organisations in [the] UAE are focusing on digital transformation and customer engagement … this has created a demand for Gupshup’s conversational messaging platform,” said Sandeep Bedi, vice president of global business development at Gupshup that automates business conversations in different languages.

Founded in 2004, the start-up has raised $340 million this year. Its smart messaging platform enables conversations across more than 30 messaging channels through a single software interface. It creates messaging tools that developers, entrepreneurs and enterprises use to communicate with their customers.

The global conversational technology market, which was valued $4.9billion last year, is expected to grow at an annual rate of 22.6 per cent, according to Vancouver-based research and consultancy firm Emergen Research.

Rising demand for artificial intelligence-driven customer support services is expected to drive the global conversational technology market's revenue growth.

Gupshup's messaging platform handles more than 6 billion messages a month, allowing nearly 40,000 businesses to send messages to nearly a billion users across different channels including text messages, voice notes, Instagram, WhatsApp, mobile web, Android, Facebook Messenger, Twitter, Telegram, Instagram and WeChat.

“Our main objective is to build a better customer engagement experience for our clients and make sure they can reach their customers globally with our conversational messaging capabilities,” said Mr Bedi.

Gupshup, which employs more than 400 employees, also helps businesses set up and run their WhatsApp channels to engage with their customers. It caters to clients from various industries such as e-commerce, financial services, hospitality and travel and tourism.

“The UAE has one of the highest usages of social media and messaging platforms that can be used to provide contextual, real-time conversations between consumers and brands, providing a great business potential for Gupshup,” the company said.