Gupshup raises $60M in equity and debt, leaves unicorn status hanging

GupshupA startup of business messages that started his journey in India More than two decades ago and became a unicorn four years ago, has collected a new round of more than $ 60 million – but holds his new appreciation under Wraps.

In 2021, Gupshup collected two financing rounds within four months and obtained $ 340 million from prominent investors, including Tiger Global, Fidelity Management, Think Investments and Malabar Investments. These rounds – the first of the startup in about a decade – Gupshup appreciated $ 1.4 billion. Fidelity, who led the round after his unicorn mile pole,, however, cut his internal appreciation of the startup at least three times between 2023 and 2024, making it up to $ 486 million to $ 486 million.

The new financing round, which combines stock and debt financing of Glowespan Capital Partners and Evolutionx Debt Capital, is intended to help the startup of San Francisco headquarters to expand his presence on its fast-growing markets, including India, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa.

The startup would not reveal the exact debt section, although the founder and CEO Beerud Seth told WAN that the share section is “slightly more than half”.

In 2004, Gupshup – derived from Indian Snake, which means ‘conversations’ – as a platform to help companies make contact with their customers via SMS messages. It became popular because SMS messages were not free at that time and people were looking for ways to send messages to their friends and community groups. However, as communication shifted from Short Messaging Service (SMS) to WhatsApp and Rich Communication Services (RCS), the startup went to these roads with its chatbot services. Now that AI has become a Catchall term, and AI agents – software who can perform specific tasks on behalf of users – have emerged everywhere, Gupshup has started enabling agents.

“There is a lot of demand from companies. Everyone has to build these AI agents who work through messages such as RCS and WhatsApp or by voice. So, building these agents, there is a huge question, and we have to support it,” Seth said.

AI agents worldwide are gaining grip, with startups that they build that attracted strong investor interests. Tech giants such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft also investigate how they can bring more from these agents to users via their own platforms. The result: competition is warm.

Gupshup does not consider rising competition as a threat. Seth pointed to the substantial installation base of the startup – which exceeds 50,000 customers in more than 100 countries – and the track record of product innovation, powered by years of experience in business messages, strategic acquisitions and internal R&D.

“Companies cannot use simple foundation models from the shelf and simply place them for customers. They need a lot of adjustment to be made, and that is where Gupshup comes in. That is what we offer,” he noticed.

Since the final round in July 2021, the startup has ‘tripled’ his income and he has grown his profitability, said Sheth. However, it is unclear whether that resulted in an increased appreciation, such as, he said, this last round was not priced.

“As a founder you focus on value and the valuation will follow,” Seth said when he was asked if he still regards the startup as a unicorn. “We work ourselves as if we are becoming a large company.”

In addition to geographically expanding, the startup aims to use its new financing to improve its products that are used in industries, including automotive, banking, e-commerce, fintech, media, payments, retail and travel. The products also include click-to-chat ads, an AI campaign Copilot, Agent Assist and Campaign Manager.

Gupshup claims more than 120 billion messages for thousands of companies every year. Looking ahead, the startup sees an IPO as the next big milestone.

“We talk to all our advisers, lawyers, bankers, accountants, etc. to find this out,” Seth said.

The startup has no specific timeline for its public list, although Seth WAN said that it could happen in 18-24 months.

Gupshup investigates whether it should mention on Indian fairs – a movement that is strategically useful, as the startup India sees, where WhatsApp dominates, as a more favorable market. One of the reasons: it is easier to communicate his story to local retail investors, who are more familiar with WhatsApp and understand how Gupshup’s products, including the AI agents, work within the platform. However, since Gupshup is located in the US, a flip to India would cause tax obligations that may require extra financing.

The IPO “is the only thing that we do not fully control. The calendar depends as much on external factors as from the company,” Seth said.