From left - Founders of Profoundis: Nithin Sam Oommen, Anoop Thomas Mathew, Jofin Joseph and Arjun R. PillaiKochi: Profoundis Labs, a Kochi-based Startup Village incubate, has been acquired by American software provider company FullContact for an undisclosed amount, opening a new front in Kerala’s start-up revolution.
It is for the first time that a company from the US has taken over an IT product firm from Kerala. Though the financial details of the offer are not disclosed, it is said to be the biggest acquisition involving an Indian startup firm. The founders of Profoundis will continue to associate with the operations of FullContact in India.
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Kris Gopalakrishnan, former Infosys chairman and a mentor of Startup Village, wrote in Malayala Manorama daily that this is the biggest headline-grabbing acquisition from Kerala.
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Profoundis was founded by Arjun R. Pillai of Thiruvalla, Jofin Joseph of Kottayam, Anoop Thomas Mathew of Thodupuzha and Nithin Sam Oommen of Kayamkulam, who did their BTech together at the College of Engineering, Chengannur.
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After completing the course in 2010, they went to work for different IT companies before regrouping to launch Profoundis Labs in June 2012 at the Startup Village in Kinfra High Tech Park, Kalamassery.
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They tasted failure in their first three ventures. It was ‘Vibe,’ a product that helps sales and recruiting professionals to do their prospect research and launched in February 2014, that changed their destiny.
The company has 72 employees at present. With this acquisition, the Denver-based software provider will get access to Profoundis’s technology, existing client and employee base.
FullContact is also backed by Brad Feld, who has invested in social video games services provider Zynga and Fitbit, which makes fitness wearables.
FullContact, which provides contact management platform for professionals and enterprises, had raised $25 million just two weeks back in a round led by Foundry Group. The company's cross-platform suite of apps and APIs helps its customers to better utilize contact information and data to glean insights, while keeping them organized and up to date.
Foundry MD Brad Feld had said at the time that FullContact is on track to more than double recurring revenue for the fourth straight year.
