Exotel

Founded in 2011, Exotel operates as a full-stack customer engagement platform, providing cloud-based communication solutions to businesses across India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The company was established in Bengaluru, India, by Shivakumar Ganesan, Ishwar Sridharan, and Siddharth Ramesh. The founders leveraged their extensive backgrounds in technology to address the communication challenges faced by businesses. Shivakumar Ganesan, the CEO, previously worked at Yahoo! and Flipkart. Ishwar Sridharan, the COO, brought experience from roles at SAP, Yahoo!, and Position2, specializing in scalable software solutions. Siddharth Ramesh, an alumnus of BITS Pilani and the University of Utah, spent nearly five years at Microsoft before co-founding Exotel.

Exotel's business model is centered on providing a suite of cloud-based products that unify customer interactions across various channels. The company serves a diverse client base, from startups like Flipkart and Ola to large enterprises across sectors such as BFSI, e-commerce, and healthcare, with over 7,000 clients globally. Revenue is generated through subscription-based plans for its services, which include contact center software, communication APIs, and AI-powered automation. The platform enables businesses to manage voice calls, SMS, WhatsApp messages, and web chat through a single interface, ensuring seamless and context-aware customer journeys.

The company's offerings are structured around an AI-powered customer engagement platform. This platform includes a business phone system with virtual numbers, IVR, and call routing, as well as an enterprise contact center solution for managing high call volumes with features like skill-based routing and CRM integration. A key component is its set of communication APIs, which allow developers to integrate voice, SMS, and WhatsApp functionalities into their own applications. Exotel has also heavily invested in AI, offering solutions like chatbots, voice bots, and conversational quality analysis to automate and enhance customer interactions. Strategic acquisitions have been pivotal to Exotel's growth. In 2021, the company merged with Ameyo, a contact center software provider, and acquired Cogno AI, a conversational AI platform, to create a comprehensive, full-stack offering. These moves have added omnichannel chatbot and live chat capabilities, strengthening its position in the market.

Keywords: customer engagement platform, cloud communication, CPaaS, CCaaS, conversational AI, cloud telephony, voice API, SMS API, business phone system, contact center solution, IVR, omnichannel communication, chatbot, call routing, lead management, CRM integration, customer experience, Exotel, Ameyo, Cogno AI