University of Washington’s artificial intelligence-powered customer support spinout AnswerDash has been bought by CloudEngage.
AnswerDash, the US-based developer of an automated online customer support service based on research at University of Washington, was acquired by web personalisation platform CloudEngage yesterday.
Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Founded in 2012 as Qazzow, AnswerDash has built an artificial intelligence-powered self-service platform that predicts user queries based on the content of a website, mobile app or chat and guides them to a resolution, including the ability to contact a human agent if necessary.
The technology integrates with third-party knowledge bases and ticketing systems such as Salesforce and Zendesk, and with live chat tools such as InContact and Olark.
CloudEngage has created a live chat service called Chord that personalises a user’s web experience through conversational learning. CloudEngage will integrate AnswerDash’s capabilities into Chord to automate this personalisation process.
Paul Wagner, chief executive of CloudEngage, said: “We saw a terrific fit here. Our platform provides rich customer data insights and real-time personalization across multiple channels.
“AnswerDash has a proven track record of delivering value to their customers by automating support, providing intuitive ways for web visitors to get predictive answers about products and services they’re interested in.”
AnswerDash raised $2.4m in a 2013 round co-led by WRF Capital, the venture capital arm of Washington Research Foundation, and Voyager Capital, with participation from W Fund, an investment vehicle targeting spinouts in Washington state, and assorted angel investors.
The company subsequently obtained $2.9m in a 2015 round led by Voyager Capital, with contributions from W Fund, WRF Capital, Summit Capital and Arnold Venture Group.
