Netcore Cloud's $100mn Investment in Unbxd Inc: A Year of Growth and Innovation in Indian SaaS

A year ago, marketing technology leader, Netcore Cloud, made a bold move by announcing its investment of nearly US$100 million for a majority stake in Unbxd Inc, a California-based leader in AI-driven product discovery, search and personalisation.

This marked the most significant investment in the SaaS ecosystem of the decade in India, and it was a milestone moment for both Netcore Cloud and Unbxd. Today, we celebrate the impact of this momentous decision and the success that has followed.

We spoke with Kalpit Jain, Group CEO at Netcore Cloud, about what inspired him to take this huge plunge, and how this investment has transformed the landscape of the SaaS industry in India.

Kalpit says, “This move was a big commitment towards advancing our vision to empower digital commerce brands to build personalised shopping experiences. It was largely driven by our vision for building full-stack marketing technology for fast-growing D2C brands across the world.

The investment has allowed us, at Netcore Cloud, to expand our offerings and deliver even more value to our 6500+ customer-base, while also helping Unbxd to scale its operations product development efforts, especially across personalisation.”

Immense cross-selling and upselling opportunities
Since the investment, Unbxd has witnessed accelerated growth of revenues across newer markets like India, South East Asia, and the Middle East.

Unbxd’s ability to cater to and undertake more enterprise customers has increased since then and put it forward as the top player in the Search and Personalisation industry.

This holds for Netcore as well, that now has a stronger foothold in the US and developed markets. Unbxd’s AI-powered search solutions augment Netcore Cloud’s full-stack Digital Experience Platform (DXP), enabling eCommerce retailers/ D2C brands to deliver a rich shopping experience.

Together Netcore & Unbxd’s customers have been therefore able to increase their profitable growth by harnessing the power of a more comprehensive set of applications from two world-class companies and end the disconnect caused by tools operating in silos.

Most importantly with Netcore & Unbxd working collaboratively together, the companies have been successful in developing an industry-leading personalisation stack, which enables brands better personalise their product discovery and product recommendation to their consumers.

Bringing two industry leaders has created opportunities for growth and innovation
Bain & Company reported that 2021, investments in Indian SaaS companies rose to $4.5 bn in 2021, a jaw-dropping increase of 170% from 2020, with deals over $50 mn driving the surge from the front.

The investment of US$100 million by Netcore Cloud in Unbxd Inc has been a game-changer for the SaaS ecosystem in India. This was the first time that a deal of this size in India saw an investor by an Indian company as against an MNC.

“Today, I can confidently state that very few MarTech players offer truly full-stack capabilities as strong as ours.

Together, with Unbxd we have been unlocking significant value creation for our customers and transforming the future of the digital commerce experience”, Kalpit asserts.

Talking about the future he adds, India has the potential to become a major player in the global SaaS industry in the coming years. As we reflect on the impact of Netcore Cloud’s investment in Unbxd Inc, the past year has contributed a significant deal to the growth and innovation of the Indian MarTech.

With a surge in investments, times are exciting for the innovation in the customer engagement & experience industry, and we’re excited to watch as we together, continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible, delivering even more value to our customers and contributing to the growth of the Indian economy as a whole, while leaving footprints in the global arenas.