Chargebee Buys Trainn To Boost AI-Powered Customer Training

Chennai-based SaaS startup ChargeBee has bought AI-powered customer tracking platform Trainn to bolster its offerings. 

However, the startup did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.

“We wanted an AI-first company’s talent in the company. Trainn has a small, right-sized team of 14 people, who have been obsessed about this for the last few years. Besides, we also aim to have a product which can be introduced to our customers and elevate our customer service to the next level when it comes to training,” Chargebee cofounder Krish Subramanian told Inc42.

“So, as we are serving more enterprise customers, it becomes very important that we are able to also hyper-personalise the customer training and education,” he added.

Post acquisition, Chargebee would also become the first customer of Trainn and also support the existing 200 customers.

Launched in 2020 by Vivekanandhan Natarajan and Sumana Ammaiyappan, Trainn creates product videos for SaaS companies to train and onboard their customers. Additionally, it allows users to engage effectively with the clients’ product in the longer run.

In 2022, the Chennai-based startup raised $700K (INR 5.98 Cr) in a seed funding round from Speciale Invest, Arka Venture Labs, along with a host of angel investors, including Freshworks chief technology officer Shan Krishnasamy and Tracxn cofounder Abhishek Goyal, among others.

Chargebee’s Acquisition Spree

Subramanian also revealed that Chargebee recently acquired AI payments management platform Inai, to meet its customer needs with real-time performance of payment methods and enhance customer’s experience.

In 2022, the startup acquired collections management platform numberz and customer retention platform Brightback.

Chargebee was founded in 2011 by Subramanian, Santhanam, Saravanan and Thiyagarajan T as a revenue management platform that automates revenue operations of high-growth subscription-based businesses. In 2021, the Chennai-based startup entered the unicorn club after raising $125 Mn in its Series G funding round.

To date, Chargebee has raised total funding of $470 Mn. 

In 2022, the startup doubled its valuation to $3.5 Bn after securing a $250 Mn funding.

Chargebee’s current headcount stands at around 1,000 and another 30 new employees will be joining the startup with the acquisitions.

Chargebee’s revenue from operations slumped 14.6% to INR 370.82 Cr in FY24 as against INR 434.34 Cr in the previous fiscal.

The company’s profit also slipped marginally by 1.5% to INR 36.80 Cr in the year under review, compared to INR 37.36 Cr from FY23.