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Exotel Techcom
IndustryCloud communications, SaaS
FoundedJuly 2011; 15 years ago (2011-07)
FoundersShivakumar Ganesan
Ishwar Sridharan
Siddharth Ramesh
Headquarters
Bengaluru, Karnataka
,
India
Key peopleShivakumar Ganesan (Co-founder & CEO)
Sachin Bhatia (Co-founder & CGO)
Ananda Kumar (CFO)
Gaurav Agrawal (CBO)
Rohan Shanbhag (COO)
Sanjeeth R. (CPO)[1]
Websiteexotel.com

Exotel Techcom Private Limited, operating as Exotel, is an Indian cloud communications and CPaaS company headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka[2] Founded in 2011, the company provides cloud-based voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP), interactive voice response (IVR), virtual contact center software, and conversational AI tools.[3][4][5]

History

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Founding and early years (2011–2015)

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Exotel was founded in July 2011 by Shivakumar Ganesan, Ishwar Sridharan, and Siddharth Ramesh.[3][6] The initial product was built after Ganesan developed an automated cloud telephony tool for his previous venture, Roopit, a consumer to consumer (C2C) marketplace. In March 2012, Exotel raised ₹2.5 cror (approx. US$500,000) in seed funding from Mumbai Angels and Blume Ventures. Following its seed round, the company operated without additional equity capital for eight years, funding operations primarily through operating revenue.[7][8] In May 2013, Exotel launched a beta version of its developer API platform to enable third-party applications.[9][8]

Following regulatory policy changes introduced by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in 2014, company expanded its services to target enterprise customers alongside small and medium-sized enterprises.[8][10][11] In February 2015, Exotel acquired Singapore-based voice-recognition startup Croak.it to integrate voice-clip technology into its platform.[12]

Expansion and acquisitions (2017–present)

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In 2017, Exotel acquired customer feedback startup Voyce.[13] In late 2020, the company raised US$5.4 million in a Series B funding round led by A91 Partners.[8][4]

Exotel merged with Gurugram-based contact center platform Ameyo in June 2021 in a cash-and-stock transaction. Later that year, in September 2021, the company raised US$35 million in Series C funding.[14][15][16] In November 2021, Exotel acquired conversational AI firm Cogno AI to integrate chatbot and co-browsing features into its platform.[14]

In January 2022, the company raised US$40 million in a Series D round led by Steadview Capital, alongside expanding its operations into Southeast Asia and the Middle East.[17][18] In November 2022, Exotel received a pan-India Unified Licence for Virtual Network Operator (VNO) Access from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), enabling it to deliver cloud-based voice services in partnership with Indian telecom operators.[19][20] In April 2026, Exotel acqui-hired the leadership team of voice AI startup Dubverse, including co-founders Anuja Dhawan and Varshul Gupta.[21][22]

Platform

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Exotel operates a cloud communications platform providing cloud telephony, virtual contact center software, and conversational AI tools. The platform includes number masking, which routes phone calls through proxy servers to connect parties without disclosing personal telephone numbers.[3] The platform uses application programming interfaces (APIs) to integrate interactive voice response (IVR) systems, automated chatbots, and web-based support across voice, messaging, and video channels.[17][23]

Awards and recognition

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References

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  1. ↑ Pathak, Shashank (19 May 2026). "Exotel expands leadership team with COO, CPO and CFO appointments". entrackr.com.
  2. ↑ Kumar, Ashutosh (16 February 2023). "Exotel further expands into MENA region, partners du, Etisalat". ETTelecom.com. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 John, Nirmal (5 February 2016). "Under cover, inside your cellphone". Fortune India.
  4. 1 2 Raghavendra, Sumanth (28 January 2021). "Exotel's US$5.4 million Series B—an unusual startup funding story". The Ken.
  5. ↑ Ramakrishnan, N. (31 January 2014). "In the cloud, calling SMEs". The Hindu Business Line. Archived from the original on 31 January 2014.
  6. ↑ "Exotel: Your business phone line gets smarter". Moneycontrol.
  7. ↑ Das, Nandana (27 March 2012). "Cloud Telephony Startup Exotel Gets Rs 2.5Cr From Mumbai Angels, Blume". VCCircle. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Sriram, M. (20 January 2022). "The rise, fall and resurrection of a startup: How Exotel persevered through a tumultuous decade". Moneycontrol.
  9. ↑ Ghoshal, Abhimanyu (27 May 2013). "India's Exotel Launches Smart Telephony API in Beta". TNW.
  10. ↑ "Exotel's FY24 loss narrows to a third, operating revenue up 6%". The Economic Times. 16 December 2024. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
  11. ↑ Moorthy, Swathi. "Exotel was a rare startup success story. Then this happened". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
  12. ↑ "Cloud telephony start-up Exotel acquires voice recognition platform Croak.it". Business Standard.
  13. ↑ Chathurvedula, Sadhana (5 November 2015). "Exotel acquires customer feedback firm Voyce". mint. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
  14. 1 2 "Exotel acquires Cogno AI to build a full-stack customer engagement platform". 11 November 2021 – via The Economic Times - The Times of India.
  15. ↑ SN, Vikas. "Customer engagement platform Exotel raises $40 million funding led by Steadview Capital". Moneycontrol.
  16. ↑ "Exotel, Ameyo join forces to address cloud-based contact centre services". The Economic Times. 29 June 2021.
  17. 1 2 Singh, Manish (4 January 2022). "Cloud telephony startup Exotel raises $40 million". TechCrunch.
  18. ↑ "Exotel unveils multilingual autonomous contact centers". 27 June 2024 – via The Hindu.
  19. ↑ Aulakh, Gulveen (10 November 2022). "Exotel gets virtual network licence". mint. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
  20. ↑ "Exotel receives VNO license from DoT, says rolled out cloud calling in Karnataka". ETTelecom.com. 23 February 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
  21. ↑ Staff, Entrepreneur (8 April 2026). "Exotel Acqui-hires Dubverse Team to Boost Voice AI Capabilities". Entrepreneur India. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
  22. ↑ Sharma, Palak (8 April 2026). "Exotel Acquihires Dubverse To Strengthen AI-Led CX Offerings". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
  23. ↑ "​Meet your next-gen telephone operator - Times Of India". The Times of India. 29 March 2013. Archived from the original on 29 March 2013.
  24. ↑ "ET Startup Awards 2022: Winners to be crowned on Nov 19". The Economic Times. 8 November 2022. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
  25. ↑ "Exotel bets big on traditional segments, product bundling to beat macroeconomic impact". The Economic Times. 30 November 2022. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
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