Chat-based personal assistant app Helpchat announced Friday it has agreed to acquire Mumbai-based start-up Niffler for an undisclosed amount. Post the acquisition, the entire team at Niffler will join Helpchat.
The Mumbai-based startup had raised $1 million from SAIF Partners in a seed funding round in March this year. Niffler was incepted in 2014 as a mobile discovery platform for users to access deals and discounts from local brick and mortar stores, and recently introduced chat-based interactions between consumers and local businesses.
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The acquisition will consolidate Helpchat's dominant position in the chat-based personal assistant ecosystem in India, the company said in an emailed statement, adding that the acquisition will also enable the company to launch its services in Pune and Mumbai.
A Helpchat spokesperson said that the app will continue to be supported until its features are integrated within the Helpchat ecosystem. Its app has 50,000-100,000 downloads on Google Play, and is available on the App Store as well.
Ankur Singla, CEO and Founder, Helpchat, said that the firm is geared for aggressive pan-India growth in the coming few months.
Niffler operates in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Delhi NCR region, Bengaluru, Pune, and Hyderabad.
According to startup data tracker Tracxn, there are over 46 Indian tech startups in the mobile personal assistants space, with 17 hailing from Bengaluru, 12 from Mumbai, six from Delhi, and two from Chennai.
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Bengaluru-based Helpchat has raised $21.2 milllion (roughly Rs. 140 crores) so far, and is is one of the top funded players in the personal assistants space. Other leading players in the chat-based personal assistants space include Russsh, Haptik, GoodService, and Lookup.
Available on Android and iOS, Helpchat has over 500,000 downloads on Google Play, and is currently active in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.
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