Bengaluru-based ZestMoney has acquired artificial intelligence-based PhotographAI in what seems to be the first acquisition by the digital lending startup. While the details of the deal remain undisclosed, the startup said that it will be hiring the entire PhotographAI team, and it is giving them ESOPs.
Bengaluru-based PhotographAI was founded by IIT-Delhi alumni Mikhil Raj and Karan Varshney in 2016. It provides a one-stop technology platform for ready-to-use machine learning solutions for businesses.
Its solutions include image classification task, text analytics solution, or video analytics technology. It delivers those solutions to its clients using various products like face recognition, hashtag generation, apparel classification, and OCR for KYC, among others for various industries.
PhotographAI had earlier raised funds from venture capital firms Orios Venture Partners and India Quotient.
This acquisition will help ZestMoney to leverage PhotographAI’s solutions to enhance the customer experience around the processes of onboarding and filing forms. ZestMoney will also be exploring new AI-driven solutions to utilize PhotograhAI’s technology platform.
Consumer digital lending platform ZestMoney was founded by Priya Sharma, Lizzie Chapman and Ashish Anantharaman in 2015. Its technology-enabled platform helps users to finance products from e-commerce websites without using credit cards. To enable a seamless experience for its users, the startup has partnered with leading e-commerce websites including Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, Quikr, MakeMyTrip, among many others.
ZestMoney claims to have 2 million accounts on the platform, with more than 70% coming from non-metro cities. It plans to take total accounts on the platform to 5 million by the end of this year. It lends nearly ₹3 crores every day from its platform with the help of over 100 lending partners.
Lizzie Chapman, Co-founder and CEO, ZestMoney, said, “The scope for using PhotographAI solutions are vast. We could be using this for facial or voice recognition where there is no OTP recognition required. This could lead to newer features like speaking into the app, and the application recognising your voice and telling you your balance.”