Capillary Technologies Acquires Minority Stake In Exclusife, Plans To Strengthen CRM Footprint

Bengaluru-based omnichannel engagement and commerce platform Capillary Technologies has acquired a minority stake in the customer management startup, Exclusife.

The move on Capillary’s part aims at expanding its CRM footprint across India, as per an official statement.

Talking about the development, Anand Krushnan, co-founder and CEO, Exclusífe, said, “Capillary’s partnership and investment is a strong endorsement of Exclusífe’s mission of enabling millions of SMB retailers with sophisticated technology. Exclusife’s goal is to change the shopping experience in 40+ Mn SMB retailers that are at the heart of the Indian commerce. Digital India starts with changing your neighborhood shopping experience, one store at a time. Capillary’s support has jump-started our fundraising efforts as we target profitability later this year.”

Noida-based Exclusife was founded in 2013 by Anand Krushnan and Manish Mehta and provides mobile-first CRM solutions to offline SMB retailers in the country. The company claims to assist over 4,000 businesses and manages profiles of 20+ Mn consumers. The company currently offers its services in more than 20 cities in India.

Commenting on the partnership, Aneesh Reddy, co-founder and CEO of Capillary Technologies said, “Exclusífe’s SMB-focussed solution is totally complementary to the enterprise CRM solutions from Capillary. This partnership means that, for the first time, retailers and brands of all sizes will have access to best-of-breed solutions. Partnering with best-in-breed companies like Exclusífe is a continuation of our strategy to build a comprehensive 360°solution for the retail fraternity and be future ready.”

Founded in August 2008 by IIT Kharagpur alumni Aneesh Reddy and Krishna Mehra, Capillary Technologies is an omnichannel engagement and commerce solution company, with a stronghold in India, Southeast Asia, MENA, and China among other countries. The company is currently registered in Singapore.

According to a company statement, it connects 200 Mn consumers, enables 25,000+ stores and 250+ enterprise ecommerce implementations across 30 countries. Leading brands such as Unilever, Walmart, Landmark Group, Madura Fashion, Arvind Brands, Redtag, Calvin Klein, Gap, Courts, Clarks, Starbucks, Pizza Hut, and Puma work with Capillary to drive retail excellence.

In September 2015, it acquired Hyderabad-based Martjack and Ruaha Labs, a machine learning startup. The company also picked up a minority stake in a customer satisfaction management firm Cloudcherry. Following that, in October 2016, Capillary acquired ecommerce platform SellerworX.

Capillary is backed by Warburg Pincus, Sequoia Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, and American Express Ventures. In September 2016, Mumbai-based venture debt fund InnoVen Capital extended a loan to Capillary.

Other players in the space of CRM include ClinchPad, enKast, Agentdesks etc.