By Alicia Maher
Coinbase is set to acquire Agara to become its subsidiary. The announcement was made on Tuesday, November 2, 2021. Coinbase, one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, has said that it would acquire Agara, a leading AI-powered company, to boost its customer support operations as it prepares to expand and improve its services. The deal is said to be worth $40 million.
Agara
Agara is an AI-powered startup in India that provides an AI-trained virtual voice that is deployed for use across different industries. Agara was founded in 2017 by Abhimanyu and Arjun Maheswaran. The startup has, according to information on its website, recorded 3.1 million conversations and worked with over 200 global brands. Agara is customer-focused and provides AI-powered solutions for human-machine interaction towards building better customer relationships. Agara has a presence in India and the US; its official address listed on the website is in California.
Agara announced on Twitter via their handle, @AgaraLabs, that they are glad to become a part of Coinbase as they seek expansion in India.
In recent months, Coinbase has sought an expansion into India, building a tech hub and recently setting up its customer experience staff to increase interactions with customers. Coinbase seeks further personalized customer support through its new acquisition, Agara. Agara is Coinbase’s first startup acquisition.
AI, Machine learning, and The Crypto Industry
The crypto industry has not been left out of the wave of AI-powered solutions. In recent times, developers have created AI-powered trading bots on different exchanges. The use of AI-powered customer service solutions has also increased in the last few years and it is no surprise that the biggest crypto exchange platform in the US will jump on a chance to own a startup that creates the AI solutions that they need. Coinbase has said that they were impressed with the level of expertise that Agara has in machine learning and AI. Coinbase hopes that Agara will bring that expertise to develop advanced customer service solutions in the future.
According to Coinbase, they plan to deliver 24/7 phone and live messaging support services by the end of 2021; while these are common, it takes tremendous work and skill to keep them functional without failures. By acquiring Agara, Coinbase hopes to begin personalized customer services that provide intelligent and real-time service support around the clock. Agara’s team will now collaborate with the various Coinbase teams to work on new products and solutions as they build together.
Coinbase Projects
Coinbase announced in October 2021 that it would release its NFT. The announcement was met with excitement as NFTs are the rave of the moment. Coinbase already partners with Opeansea, the largest NFT marketplace in the world. Coinbase also partners and invests with other firms and companies that develop blockchain solutions targeted at different industries.
As Coinbase seeks expansion of its services and products, the company will need more hands -virtual and physical- to help drive its growth and improve customer satisfaction.