Active.ai
Active.ai is a Singapore-based conversational AI platform that enables banks to engage retail customers through micro-conversations, delivering account, transaction, and service workflows via chat interfaces integrated with core banking systems.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersSingapore, Singapore
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Active.ai does
Active.ai is a Singapore-based conversational AI platform purpose-built for the banking sector, founded in 2016. The company's product enables financial institutions to engage their retail customers through "micro conversations" — short, intent-driven chat exchanges that surface account information, transactions, and service workflows without requiring app downloads or call-center escalation. The platform sits as a layer between the bank's core systems and messaging channels, using natural language understanding and conversational orchestration to handle banking-specific intents while remaining compliant with financial-services data and security requirements. Active.ai sells to banks as enterprise SaaS, with deployment tied to identity, core banking, and CRM integrations, which generates meaningful switching costs once live. The company has scaled to 51-100 employees and operates privately from Singapore, with reported plans and investor backing aimed at South and Southeast Asian markets.
The company has raised approximately $14.75 million in disclosed funding across seed, Series A, Series B, and follow-on rounds between 2016 and 2020. Lead investors include Kstart (seed), IDG Capital (Series Seed/early), CE Innovation Capital, Dream Incubator and Vertex Ventures (Series A in November 2017, $8.25M), and InnoVen Capital (Series B in June 2019, $3M), with additional capital from AMTD ASEAN-Solidarity Fund in September 2020 indicating a Southeast Asia regional push. The investor mix spans Indian VCs (Kalaari, Chiratae, InnoVen) and Southeast Asian VCs (Vertex SEA & India, CE Innovation Capital, AMTD), suggesting a deliberate dual-region go-to-market targeting bank clients across both geographies.
Leadership is founder-led and stable: co-founder Ravi Shankar serves as CEO, co-founder Shankar Narayanan as COO, and co-founder Parikshit Paspulati as CTO, with a Customer Experience Officer and Senior VP of Products rounding out the operating team. No public revenue, customer counts, valuation, or partnership disclosures specific to Active.ai were present in the source data beyond funding amounts, investor names, and the product description, so detailed revenue mechanics, pricing tiers, and enterprise customer logos cannot be quantified from the available evidence.
Active.ai firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Active.ai
- Legal name
- Gupshup
- Website
- https://active.ai
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Active.ai is a Singapore-based conversational AI platform that enables banks to engage retail customers through micro-conversations, delivering account, transaction, and service workflows via chat interfaces integrated with core banking systems.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Active.ai industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Conversational Banking Platform
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821)
- SIC
- Telegraph & Other Message Communications (4822)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Conversational AI Platforms (chat/voice bots, orchestration) (HDAAAFAC)
Keywords
Where Active.ai is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Singapore
- HQ country
- Singapore
- HQ region
- Asia
Markets served
Active.ai business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- WhatsApp Business API Access: Revenue generated from providing API access to WhatsApp Business Platform, typically charged per message or through subscription tiers based on conversation volumes
- Conversation Cloud Platform: Subscription-based access to the Gupshup Conversation Cloud platform offering AI agents, customer journey orchestration, and analytics capabilities
- Professional Services: Customer success and implementation support, including onboarding assistance and campaign optimization services
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise tier with full platform access and dedicated support |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels12 records
Active.ai product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Active.ai operates a service platform that connects consumers with their banks via micro-conversations. The platform enables banks to engage customers through chat-based conversational interfaces, facilitating banking service requests, account inquiries, and customer interactions through natural language conversations.
Product overview
Gupshup is a conversational AI platform offering a unified portfolio of products for marketing, commerce, and support automation. The core offering is the Gupshup WhatsApp Business API, which provides access to 2.75 billion+ global WhatsApp users. This is supported by the Gupshup Conversation Cloud platform for orchestrating customer journeys, with AI-powered modules including Gupshup AI Agents (multi-modal autonomous agents) and Gupshup Personalize (real-time behavioral personalization). Additional features include WhatsApp Flows, WhatsApp Commerce, WhatsApp Pay, Click-to-WhatsApp Ads, and Rich Messaging Templates. The platform supports both AI and human agent interactions, enabling 80%+ self-serve customer request resolution. Gupshup handles 120 Billion+ messages annually across 130+ countries.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Active.ai Conversational Banking Platform
Quantifiable outcome
- 95%+ message delivery rates
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Active.ai
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Active.ai technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability6 records
Feature7 records
Active.ai partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Meta (WhatsApp)coreGupshup is Meta's official WhatsApp Business Solution Provider, holding the exclusive Partner of the Year award in both 2023 and 2024. This partnership provides Gupshup exclusive beta access to WhatsApp's newest features and innovations, enabling differentiated capabilities for customers. The relationship involves deep technical integration with WhatsApp Business API and joint go-to-market activities.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Active.ai competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Wati: WhatsApp Business API specialist focused on SMBs and growth-stage businesses. Comparable as a WhatsApp-native BSP with overlapping customer segments (retail, e-commerce, services) and a self-serve onboarding model.
- Sinch: Messaging and communications platform serving enterprises with WhatsApp, SMS, RCS, and voice APIs. Comparable as a WhatsApp BSP with similar enterprise customers and global geographic ambition.
- Infobip: Conversational messaging platform and WhatsApp Business Solution Provider serving enterprises globally. Directly comparable in BSP status, omnichannel capabilities, and enterprise customer engagement use cases.
- Yellow.ai: Enterprise conversational AI platform offering AI agents across chat and voice channels. Directly comparable in generative-AI-powered customer automation targeting large enterprises.
- Haptik: Conversational AI platform serving enterprises with WhatsApp, web, and voice bots. Comparable in target verticals (BFSI, retail, telecom) and AI-agent-first architecture, with Jio/Reliance backing.
- MessageBird: Omnichannel cloud communications platform offering WhatsApp Business API, SMS, email, and voice with AI-powered customer engagement. Direct competitor in the WhatsApp BSP and conversational automation space.
Emerging players
- Verloop.io: Conversational AI platform specializing in customer support automation for emerging-market enterprises. Comparable as an emerging conversational AI player with WhatsApp-heavy delivery and similar target verticals.
Broad incumbents
- Twilio: Global communications API leader offering messaging, voice, and customer engagement infrastructure. Comparable as a direct provider of WhatsApp Business API access and adjacent messaging channels, with a much broader enterprise footprint.
- Vonage: Communications APIs and contact-center-as-a-service provider (now part of Ericsson). Comparable in messaging APIs, WhatsApp Business API access, and enterprise customer engagement use cases, though with a broader portfolio.
- Intercom: AI-first customer service platform combining chat, helpdesk, and AI agents (Fin). Comparable as an enterprise conversational engagement platform, though primarily focused on web/in-app rather than WhatsApp-first.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Active.ai social profiles
Digital presenceActive.ai financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Active.ai leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Active.ai funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds6 records
Investors11 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Active.ai M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Active.ai
What does Active.ai do?
Active.ai operates a service platform that connects consumers with their banks via micro-conversations. The platform enables banks to engage customers through chat-based conversational interfaces, facilitating banking service requests, account inquiries, and customer interactions through natural language conversations.
Is Active.ai a public or private company?
Active.ai is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Active.ai founded?
Active.ai was founded in 2016. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Active.ai based?
Active.ai is headquartered in Singapore, Singapore, in the Asia region.
How does Active.ai make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. WhatsApp Business API Access are the primary driver. The others are conversation Cloud Platform and professional Services.
Who are Active.ai's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Wati, Sinch, Infobip, Yellow.ai, Haptik and MessageBird. Verloop.io is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Twilio, Vonage and Intercom.
Does Active.ai have an API?
Yes. Active.ai exposes a public API. Developer documentation is at docs.gupshup.io.
What industry is Active.ai in?
Active.ai's product category is Conversational Banking Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAAAFAC, Conversational AI Platforms (chat/voice bots, orchestration). Its NAICS code is 51821 and its SIC code is 4822.