WestBridge Capital leads $23 Mn Series B round in Skit

Artificial intelligence-based voice startup Skit which was previously Vernacular.ai, has raised $23 million in its Series B round led by WestBridge Capital. Kalaari Capital, Exfinity Ventures and AngelList Syndicate led by Aaryaman Vir Shah from Prophetic Ventures, and LetsVenture Syndicate led by Sense AI have also participated.

According to Skit, the funds will be used for sales and marketing, building delivery capabilities, research and development, and to expand its product offerings.

Founded by Sourabh Gupta and Akshay Deshraj, Skit helps enterprises to automate their call center operations with its suite of speech and language solutions.

The startup claims that its product, Vernacular Intelligent Voice Assistant (VIVA) can currently respond in over 16 languages covering over 160 dialects and replicating human-like conversations. Its clients’ list includes diverse sectors such as BFSI, F&B, Hospitality, Consumer Electronics and Travel and Tourism, and Barbeque Nation among others.

Before rebranding itself from Vernacular.ai to Skit, it had raised $5.1 million in its Series A round led by Exfinity Ventures and Kalaari Capital, AngelList, IAN Fund and LetsVenture in May 2020. This Series B funding brings the startup’s total fundraise to $30 million.