List of tech startups Airtel has acquired stake in, ET Telecom

New Delhi: Bharti Airtel, India’s second largest telecommunications company, has since 2019 taken stakes in a number of start-ups operating in the data, networks, payments and distribution sectors.

The telecom company launched a startup accelerator program in 2019 to support early-stage startups in India. It was intended to bring Airtel’s machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to startups to help them grow.

Since the program’s inception, the company has invested in over 20 start-ups. According to Airtel, it aims to help build a vibrant startup ecosystem that contributes to “Digital India”.

Here are some of the tech startups that Airtel has invested in:

Vahan: Vahan was the first to participate in the Airtel Startup Accelerator program.

2019. Airtel acquires stake in Vahan, partnering to use artificial intelligence to find jobs for billions of internet users.

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Quick Miles: In 2019, Airtel announced the acquisition of Quickmile, a Gurugram-based logistics startup focused on building a technology-enabled logistics platform in India.

Quickmile is now part of Airtel X Labs, a digital innovation factory focused on IoT, digital engineering, artificial intelligence and machine learning, according to a telco statement.

Voicezen: In 2020, Airtel acquired a 10% stake in Voicezen, a Gurgaon-based startup focused on conversational artificial intelligence technology.

This will give Airtel access to Voicezen’s technology and allow it to be deployed across customer touch points in multiple languages, giving Voicezen the opportunity to deploy its technology at scale.

Waybeo: Waybeo is a cloud telephony analytics startup that provides enterprises with insights into their cloud telephony usage. Airtel invested in Trivandrum-based cloud telephony startup Waybeo in 2020.

The telecommunications company has acquired a 10 percent stake in tech startup Waybeo under its Startup Accelerator Program.

Achilles: Airtel has acquired a stake in Aqilliz, a blockchain-as-a-service company under the Airtel Startup Accelerator Program in 2022.

The Singapore-based startup has developed a patented hybrid blockchain platform that Airtel has built on its fast-growing ad tech (Airtel Ads), digital entertainment (Wynk Music & Airtel Xstream), and digital marketplace (Airtel Thanks App), we aim to deploy it at scale across our services.

Ravel Networks: In 2022 Airtel will acquire about $10 billion. Acquired a 25% stake in Lavelle Networks, strengthening its Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) portfolio.

The Bangalore-based technology start-up specializes in software-defined wide area network solutions and serves a wide range of industry segments.

Collaborator: To strengthen Airtel’s 5G-enabled Network as a Service portfolio for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), the company acquired a 7% stake in Cnergee Technologies in 2022.

Cnergee Technologies, a cloud-based networking solutions provider, has developed 5G-ready software tools for NaaS. The acquisition will also provide Airtel with advanced software tools that will enhance its “Work From Anywhere” solutions portfolio.

Lemnisk: In 2022, Airtel announced a strategic stake acquisition in Lemnisk (Immensitas Private Limited). Airtel and Lemnisk will work together to build a Customer Data Platform (CDP) platform, the telecom company said.

The Bangalore-based startup offers real-time marketing automation and secure CDP for 1:1 personalization and cross-channel customer journeys.

Airtel has also partnered with Invest India to launch the ‘Airtel India Startup Innovation Challenge’. Entries were invited from Indian start-ups working on innovative solutions across 5G, IoT, cloud communications, digital advertising and digital entertainment.

Three startups won the challenge. Neuronics InstituteAI and ML startups, enthusiast eyeConversational Intelligence Startup, and chime radio, a podcast platform. Startups will have access to Airtel’s Digital Innovation Lab and will participate in the Airtel Startup Accelerator Program.

Startup acquisition strategies have advantages such as access to new technologies and services, talent, and new markets. However, acquiring a startup comes with challenges such as integration difficulty, expense, and risk of failure. These investments by Airtel demonstrate the telecom company’s commitment to becoming a digital services company.

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