ServiceNow acquires AI startup Passage AI

ServiceNow has acquired Passage AI, a startup that helps customers build chatbots in multiple languages, something that should come in handy as ServiceNow continues to modernize its digital platform.

With Passage AI, ServiceNow gets a bushel of AI talent, which in itself has value, but it also gets AI technology, which should fit in nicely with ServiceNow’s mission. For starters, the company’s chatbot solutions give ServiceNow an automated way to respond to customer/user inquiries.

Even more interesting for ServiceNow, Passage includes an IT automation component that uses ” a conversational interface to submit tickets, handle queries and take direct action through APIs. It also gets an HR automation piece, giving the company an intelligent tool it could incorporate across its Now Platform in tools like ServiceNow Virtual Agent and Service Portal, as well as Workspaces in multiple languages.

Companies are increasingly looking for ways to solve common customer problems using chatbots, while only bringing humans into the loop when the bot can’t answer the query. Passage AI gives ServiceNow much deeper knowledge in this growing area. The company website lists a variety of large customers, including Mastercard, Shell, Mercedes-Benz and SoftBank.

SHL to acquire Aspiring Minds

US-based talent evaluation company SHL announced its plans to acquire Gurgaon based job credentialing platform Aspiring Minds for an undisclosed amount. The deal is expected to close in November and cost somewhere between $80-$100 Mn largely all-in-cash.

Through this acquisition, SHL plans to infuse Aspiring Minds’ artificial intelligence (AI) technology with SHL’s portfolio and leverage the “rigorous science to enable the technical, emerging and leadership talent required” for over 10K customers. Some of the big names in its companies clientele include e-commerce giant Amazon, the telecom operator Airtel, IT company Wipro and US industrial conglomerate Honeywell.

Founded in 2008 by Himanshu Aggarwal and Varun Aggarwal, Aspiring Minds is an employability evaluation and certification company that helps institutions and companies hire the right candidate. The company also allows candidates to take employability test to find the ‘right’ jobs through its flagship product AMCAT. AMCAT is said to serve over two million candidates every year.

The HRTech startup relies on its state-of-the-art, adaptive assessment technology, and machine learning algorithms to allow adaptive, standardized and reliable measurement of generic employability skills, i.e. language, cognitive, behavior, among other functional skills. Currently, the company serves over 3000 clients across the US, China, Philippines, Middle East, and Southeast Asia, among others.

Haptik acquires E-commerce Chatbot Buzzo.ai

Artificial Intelligence chatbot firm Haptik, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd, has acquired a Mumbai based conversational commerce start-up Buzzo.ai. The deal was valued at $3-4 Million.

Buzzo.ai offers personalized recommendations to users, based on insights extracted using artificial intelligence algorithms on user reviews across the web. Following this acquisition, Haptik will now be able to further enhance voice and chat commerce solutions for its customers globally, and leverage the platform to power multilingual experiences.

This is the second acquisition by Reliance Jio-owned Haptik in the last three months. Earlier in July, Mumbai-based Haptik acqui-hired Convrg, a Los Angeles-based startup that develops chatbots, to serve customers in North America.

Haptik lets customers chat with voice assistants to complete daily tasks such as online shopping, travel bookings, food delivery among others. The company claims to have reached over 100 Mn devices and processed more than 2 Bn conversations till date. Some of its notable clients and enterprise partners include Samsung, Oyo Rooms, KFC, Coca-Cola, Tata Group, and Club Mahindra among others.