Twilio, a leading cloud communication and customer engagement platform headquartered in San Francisco announced the acquisition of India’s ValueFirst.
Gurugram-based ValueFirst is working hard at solving different aspects of the CPaaS industry. Anand Rathi Advisors acted as exclusive advisors for ValueFirst shareholders.
Twilio is being used by millions of developers around the world to unlock the magic of communications to improve any human experience.
California headquartered Twilio has democratised communications channels like voice, text, chat, video, and email by virtualising the world’s communications infrastructure through APIs.
Developer’s toolkit
These APIs are simple enough for any developer to use, yet robust enough to power the world’s most demanding applications.
By making communications a part of every software developer’s toolkit, Twilio is enabling innovators across every industry — from emerging leaders to the world’s largest organizations — to reinvent how companies engage with their customers.
Founded in 2003 by Vishwadeep Bajaj, ValueFirst is one of the top CPaaS players of India that has offices across India, the Middle East, and Indonesia.
Customer base
ValueFirst connects businesses with consumers over telecom (SMS & Voice) and internet (Chatbots, Email & OTT) channels. ValueFirst is driven by 350+ free-spirited people and serves a diversified customer base.
Leading companies that rely on ValueFirst include Google, IndigGo, TATA Motors, P&G, InfoEdge and Axis Bank.
Twilio decision to acquire ValueFirst brings together the world’s largest cloud communication company, Twilio and India’s leading player, ValueFirst.
India is one of the biggest mobile markets in the world, the coming together of these players means big things. With ValueFirst’s customers, market know-how and product offerings Twilio will be able to scale even further. India is an important market for Twilio and its customers.
Conversational AI
The country is experiencing significant growth and presents a number of opportunities in the areas of messaging, conversational AI, and mar-tech.
Commenting on the acquisition, Twilio Senior Vice President of Strategic Business Development Doug Garland said ValueFirst and Twilio have so much in common.
“ValueFirst’s entrepreneurial spirit and people-focused mentality remind us so much of our own values. Together, we are excited to accelerate our position in an important market and turbocharge our combined success,” said Doug Garland.
Anand Rathi Advisors acted as exclusive advisors for ValueFirst shareholders. Anand Rathi Advisors CEO Samir Bahl said the company is privileged to have been associated with this marquee transaction.
“With this acquisition, Twilio has created an ideal platform to further penetrate the Indian market which is one of the fastest-growing markets globally, resulting in value creation for both Twilio and ValueFirst shareholders,” said Anand Rathi Advisors.
He also opined Vishwadeep Bajaj has created one of the best CPaaS platforms in India. “I am confident that with a global leader in the space like Twilio as a partner he will take the business to the next level,” said Samir Bahl.
Customer centricity
Commenting on the partnership, ValueFirst CEO & Founder Vishwadeep Bajaj said that the company is obsessed with customer centricity and helping businesses have joyful conversations.
“Twilio and ValueFirst share very similar values. Twilio’s trusted brand, services, and global reach will enable us to service our customers in more meaningful ways,” said Vishwadeep Bajaj.
Ruchir Lahoty, an early ValueFirst investor with MegaDelta Capital said the company’s journey with ValueFirst and Vish has been a fantastic and fulfilling ride.
“We triumphed over significant regulatory and business challenges along the way that saw quite a few of the competitors pivot or wither away. It’s a testament to Vish and his team that they stayed true to building a world-class CPaaS company out of India,” said Ruchir Lahoty.
With this merger, Ruchir Lahoty pointed out that ValueFirst gets the parentage of a world leader as it embarks upon its next phase of growth and leadership not just in India but also in the region.
ValueFirst will work closely with the Twilio leadership and share knowledge, insights, and connections to grow the market even more.
Now that Twilio and ValueFirst have joined forces, we’re more excited than ever to see what you build.
