Startup Acceleration: Airtel picks 10% stake in KSUM-fostered Waybeo

Waybeo Technology Solutions under Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) hit a milestone when telecom giant Bharti Airtel announced picking up a strategic 10 percent stake in the Thiruvananthapuram-based company with a focus on deep AI analytics for cloud telephony.

The deal, which comes as part of the Airtel Startup Accelerator Programme, will enable 2011-founded Waybeo to earn a larger distribution reach.

Waybeo Is now located in the Scale-up Space of KSUM in the state capital. Established in order to provide assistance to the creation of a startup ecosystem that contributes to ‘Digital India’, the Airtel endeavor aims to support the growth of early-stage startups in the country.

Waybeo CEO Krishnan R V said the tie-up with Airtel will help the telecom company use the startup’s telephone-based AI services.

“We envisage a technology that analyses the feedback of Airtel customers, besides improved automation for the telecom company to perform better,” he revealed. “As a B2B collaboration, this will enable our firm to fetch more such opportunities in the future.”

“We are capable of providing prospects in commerce that goes beyond mobile-phone and internet services,” the CEO added.

The cloud telephony market in India is registering rapid growth with businesses move processes steadily giving prominence to cloud-based platforms.

KSUM is the nodal agency of the Kerala Government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state.