Netcore Cloud takes majority stake in Unbxd Inc, after $100m investment

Kalpit Jain, Group Chief Executive Officer, Netcore Cloud

Netcore Cloud, an SaaS company in customer communication, engagement, and retention, bets big on Personalization with its investment of close to $100m to acquire a majority stake in US-based, search-personalization company Unbxd Inc. It will also be infusing additional funding into Unbxd to propel the company’s growth in developed markets.

What does Unbxd bring to Netcore Cloud portfolio?

Founded by Pavan Sondur and Prashant Kumar in 2012, Unbxd is a 120-member team and has built a best-in-class AI-powered Product Discovery suite. Its intelligent search solutions improve retention and conversions for eCommerce retailers in the USA, UK, and Australia.

Some of marquee brands include Mattress Firm, Express, Ashley Homestore, Home Shopping Network, Advance Auto Parts, The Children’s Place, Mitre10, Kookai, and many others.

Netcore Cloud, ranks a strong performer in email marketing by Forresterwave, commands 75% of India’s & 50% of Asia’s email traffic on its platform. With Unbxd’s expertise in product discovery, the move positions Netcore Cloud’s as a top Digital Experience Platform (DXP).

What does this deal mean for Netcore Cloud clients?

Leveraging Unbxd’s AI-powered search expertise equips Netcore Cloud to deliver a real-time recommendation to its online eCommerce/app-first brand and retailer.

“The coming MarTech era will be defined by budget shifts from Adtech to MarTech as brands will focus more on unit economics and valuing existing customers. This will lead D2C/eCommerce brands to accelerate their spending towards delivering personalized customer experiences,” said Kalpit Jain, Group Chief Executive Officer, Netcore Cloud.

“Unbxd’s AI/ML tech stack will empower our clients to track their shopper’s interactions with Search and implement site-wide Personalization, merchandising, and recommendations. Thus enable brands to optimize their entire customer journey, providing top customer experience.”

“Netcore Cloud platform is growing rapidly at 40% YoY (with international markets growing 100% YoY ),” said Nishant Jain, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of M&A, Netcore Cloud.

“We are positioned as the digital proxy in emerging markets. This investment will enable us to get a foothold in the US and other developed markets as well. Furthermore, the combination of Unbxd and Netcore Cloud’s capabilities will bolster our full-stack product offerings.”

“The SaaS market is very fragmented, and the era of SaaS consolidation is upon us. We intend to fast-track our growth exponentially with the Buy-Partner strategy. This is our fourth acquisition in quick succession, and we already have our eyes set on the next one.”

What are the executive thoughts of Unbxd on the deal?

Pavan Sondur and Prashant, Co-founders at Unbxd, said, “Since our launch, we have been on a mission to solve the problem of discovery for digital commerce leveraging the power of AI.”

“With our combination of personalization solutions and Netcore’s marketing automation tech, it’s a perfect chance to capture cross-selling opportunities and scale the business globally.

Netcore Cloud has also confirmed that there will be no structural change in the company‘s management, as the founders and key management will continue to build and grow the company post this deal. Unbxd will operate as an independent entity.