Asset management firm Fidelity has reportedly slashed its stake in the business messaging platform Gupshup by another 7.7% last month, lowering the value of its holding in the SaaS startup by a total of over 65% since its investment in mid-2021.
Gupshup is a conversational AI and messaging platform that enables businesses to communicate with their customers through various messaging channels like WhatsApp, SMS, Facebook Messenger, and others. The platform is designed to make communication seamless and more efficient for businesses, especially in terms of customer engagement and support.
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The company offers tools for building and deploying chatbots, AI-driven conversations, and rich messaging experiences. It serves a wide range of industries, including retail, banking, e-commerce, healthcare, and more.
Founded by Beerud Sheth in 2004, Gupshup helps automate interactions, create chatbots, and manage customer support, marketing, and notifications—all through messaging apps.
As an entrepreneur with a strong background in technology and business, Sheth is the CEO and the key figure behind the company’s success.
Before founding Gupshup, Sheth majored in computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. His career includes working in a variety of tech sectors, but his passion for making communication more effective and scalable led him to create Gupshup.
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At first, Gupshup started as a platform for SMS-based communication and peer-to-peer messaging. Under Sheth’s leadership, Gupshup evolved from a messaging service provider to a comprehensive conversational AI platform, which allowed businesses to create chatbots, automating their customer service and sales functions.
Gupshup is now one of the leading players in the conversational messaging and chatbot space, with a strong presence in markets like India, the U.S., and other parts of the world.
Reportedly, one of the funds managed by the U.S. asset manager valued its investment in Gupshup at $5.62 million at the end of November, down from $6.09 million in October, based on a monthly report. According to Fidelity’s calculation, the asset manager now values Gupshup at $486 million.