MoEngage, an Indian company specializing in customer engagement software for brands worldwide, has acquired Aampe, a startup based in San Francisco, in a cash-only transaction, betting on the future of marketing being driven by AI agents that tailor decisions for individual consumers.

The specifics of the financial agreement were not revealed by MoEngage; however, a source acquainted with the situation informed TechCrunch that the cash transaction amounts to tens of millions of dollars.

Established in 2020, Aampe creates software that allocates a personalized AI agent for each customer, enabling brands to customize communications based on unique behaviors instead of relying on conventional audience segments and campaign strategies. The startup boasts over 30 clients spanning the U.S., Europe, and Asia-Pacific, having increased its annual recurring revenue by 150% in the last year, according to MoEngage co-founder and CEO Raviteja Dodda during an interview.

Dodda expressed to TechCrunch that this acquisition will aid in attracting clients currently utilizing competing marketing platforms like Salesforce and Adobe.

“A significant portion of our growth comes from the migration of enterprise clients from Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Adobe Experience Cloud,” remarked Dodda.

According to Dodda, MoEngage recently secured three to four contracts valued in the multimillion-dollar range with clients transitioning from Salesforce. He is optimistic that the Aampe acquisition will assist in acquiring more such clients.

This acquisition occurs amidst a rush among software companies to integrate AI more profoundly into enterprise applications, advancing beyond tools that generate content or assist staff towards agents capable of making independent decisions. In marketing, this encompasses determining which customers to approach, the content of the messages to be sent, and the optimal timing for sending them.

Brands like Swiggy, Grab, and Taxfix utilize Aampe’s technology, with some also employing MoEngage’s customer engagement platform.

This acquisition follows MoEngage’s recent $280 million fundraising through a combination of primary and secondary transactions over six months ago. Approximately 20 employees from Aampe will join MoEngage, raising the total workforce of the company to around 820 individuals.

MoEngage stated that it caters to more than 1,350 consumer brands across 75 countries, representing clients in industries such as retail, financial services, media, and food delivery.

Having raised around $28 million over three funding rounds since its inception in 2020, Aampe counts Peak XV Partners, Z47, and Theory Ventures among its backers.