Google acqui-hires customer service automation startup Onward

The tech giant, Google, has acquired customer service automation toolmaker Onward as a partial acqui-hire. The terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. As part of the acquisition, startup’s co-founders Rémi Cossart and Pramod Thammaiah and CTO Aaron Podolny will join Google.Onward provides an AI-powered chat solution to help customers with their needs while helping businesses use resources wisely. Onward had raised $120M in private funding across two rounds.

Founded in 2015, Onward is the first customer service automation platform. It helps its clients achieve Automation40 – 40% of tickets automated, 40% of messages automated, 40 second average response time. Its platform helps our clients automate the frequent, lower-value customer service requests, freeing up their agents to focus on the high complexity, high value issues their customers face. Their clients range from fast growing tech startups to established Fortune 1000 companies and are spread across the globe.

In a statement titled “Onward is Joining Google!,“ Onward said on its website:

“We’re thrilled to announce that Onward is joining Google!

At Onward, we’re focused on transforming the way people communicate with computers. Back in 2015, we were amazed by the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence — particularly in natural language processing and machine learning — and were convinced there was real opportunity to put those technologies to work. So we started Onward with the mission of allowing computers to participate in natural, human conversations.

It’s been an exciting ride ever since then. We began as a bootstrapped startup working out of our living room in a Brooklyn apartment. From there, we relocated to San Francisco and were fortunate enough to grow the Onward team and expand to clients across the globe. Throughout this journey, we’ve remained focused on unlocking the magical experiences that are possible when computers understand the subtleties hidden in a user’s actions and messages.

Today, we’re announcing the next step on that journey — Onward is joining the Google family! With Google, we’ll be able to expand the reach of the technologies that power Onward. These core technologies are what got us excited in the first place, and we are excited to bring them to Google.

We’d like to thank our clients, investors, friends, and family — it’s with your support that we’ve reached this moment. The next chapter will let the Onward team and technology truly shine, and we’re excited to continue to make progress towards our vision.

– The Onward team”

Onward co-founders: Rémi Cossart and Pramod Thammaiah and CTO Aaron Podolny