Helpchat shuts its chat business, lays off employees
1 min read . Updated: 26 May 2016, 09:16 PM IST
PremiumThe company has given three months' severance package to employees who have been let go and is helping them find new jobs
Mumbai: Coraza Technologies Pvt. Ltd, which operates the online complaints redressal company Helpchat, has shut its chat services, the company said in a statement.
The company has also laid off an unspecified number of employees.
“After extensive debate internally, we took the call to phase out chat from our app and create the same level of experience using automation and simple user interfaces. The rest of the app remains the same—but it is simplified, fast and without any delays," co-founder Ankur Singla said in a personal blog post on Thursday.
The company has given three months’ severance package to employees who have been let go and is helping them find new jobs.
“I’m working with our HR team on this and we have already roped in 12 start-ups and big companies for out-placing them into the right job profiles," Singla said.
The company raised its last funding round of ₹ 100 crore from Sequoia Capital in May 2015 following which it repositioned and rebranded itself.
The service became a mobile-based personal assistance platform and changed its name from Akosha to Helpchat.
The chat service that was launched in June didn’t turn out the way the company had hoped. Customers who tried it weren’t coming back. The launch of a chat bot which seemed to kill the user experience.
Finally, in September, the company decided to rethink its strategy. It acquired a Mumbai-based mobile app Niffler that helps discover deals and discounts from brick and mortar stores and launched recharge, bill payment, cabs, deals, news and journey cards over the last five months.
