SUMMARY
The Chennai-based unicorn has noted INR 17 Cr in profit in FY2018
Freshworks recently acquired Seattle-based AI startup AnsweriQ
The company is preparing for an IPO in 2021
Chennai-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) unicorn Freshworks has managed to register a net profit of INR 30 Cr on a standalone basis for the financial year 2019, ending March 2019. In the previous financial year of 2018, the company has managed to garner a net profit of INR 17 Cr.
In FY2019, Freshworks registered INR 404.7Cr in revenue, noting a 59% hike from the INR254 Cr noted the previous year. During this year, the company spent INR 364 Cr on employee benefits expenses, almost 61% higher than the INR 226 Cr spent in FY18.
Founded in 2010 by Girish Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamy as Freshdesk, the company was rebranded to Freshworks in June 2017. Now, the company is working on creating brand recognition and awareness in the US as it plans to list itself in the New York-headquartered NASDAQ stock exchange.
Therefore, this week, the company also acquired a Seattle-based artificial intelligence (AI) startup AnsweriQ for an undisclosed amount. Now, Freshworks is planning to integrate AnsweriQ’s product line into its own AI engine, Freddy. The company believes that AnsweriQ’s products will complement Freddy.
“The integration of AnsweriQ’s technology enhances our AI/ML [Artificial Intelligence/ Machine Learning] capability in the customer engagement space and offers significant value to our customers,” Mathrubootham said.
Media reports also suggest that the founder has relocated to the US to keep in touch with the US headquarters in Californian as a preparation drive for the upcoming IPO. The Freshworks CEO reportedly spends most of his time in the US market, closer to consumers and other stakeholders in order to ease out the process of launching its IPO.
In November 2019, the company also raised $150 Mn in a funding round led by tech giant Google at a $3.5 Bn valuation. Freshworks’ existing investors Sequoia and Accel Partners had also participated in the round.
The company has more than 150K clients across the world, which include NHS, Honda, Rightmove, Hugo Boss, Citizens Advice, Toshiba, Cisco and others. In November 2019, the company announced that it has crossed $200 Mn in annual recurring revenue (ARR). The company had managed to hit $100 Mn ARR mark in June last year.
