Decoding Freshworks’ AI-first strategy; AI boost for micro businesses

Hello,

Sometimes, even a doll can turn you into a multi-billionaire.

Wang Ning, CEO of Pop Mart International Group, now counts among China’s ten richest individuals after the skyrocketing sales of the “ugly-cute” Labubu doll. His net worth is now estimated at a staggering $22.7 billion!

Labubu dolls are sold in “blind boxes”, and buyers only discover which design they have received after unboxing. This element of surprise sparked a trend across social media platforms.

However, even if you’re a billionaire, throwing money at the problem doesn’t always work.

Jeff Bezos is facing stiff pushback from Venetians, who threaten to disrupt his wedding to journalist Lauren Sánchez. The opposition to the wedding, which is rumoured to be costing €10 million, stems from Venice's overtourism problem.

Meanwhile, Amazon India is looking to invest Rs 2,000 crore to scale the domestic retailer’s operations and network. This comes just a week after it launched pilots for its Amazon Now quick commerce service in Bengaluru. Myntra has also expanded its rapid delivery service, M-Now, to Delhi-NCR and Mumbai.

Indians are earning more than ever. The number of dollar millionaires in India increased by 4.4% in 2024 to 917,000, according to the UBS Global Wealth Report. 

That number may just be smoke and mirrors as the wealth threshold to join the country’s top 1% is relatively low—Rs 1.52 crore.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Decoding Freshworks’ AI-first strategy
• AI boost for micro businesses
• Investors cheer SEBI’s private investment reforms

Here’s your trivia for today: Also called the Typhoon of Steel, what was one of the bloodiest battles fought in the Pacific Theatre during World War II?

Interview

Decoding Freshworks’ AI-first strategy

After taking the reins as CEO at Freshworks last year, Dennis Woodside has configured the organisation chart to align with its AI-integrated services. Started as a help-desk vendor platform, Freshworks now focuses on being AI-first. Its AI-led approach helped push Q1 2025 revenue up 19% to $196 million.

In an interaction with YourStory, Woodside explains how his approach to any new technology remains the same, why pricing Freddy AI Copilot seats at $29 a month makes sense, and the reasoning behind positioning Freshworks’ agents as the mid-market alternative to incumbents like ServiceNow and Salesforce.

Mid-market alternative:

• Woodside said that Freddy AI Copilot now had 2,700 paying users and around 1,600 for its AI agent product. Freshworks monetises AI directly, charging $29 per seat per month for Copilot, and a per session charge for AI agents.
• What sets Freshworks apart from other SaaS firms is providing agentic AI software that’s easy for a mid-sized or a small business to use and doesn't require a huge amount of customisation. Its AI Agent Studio allows customers to either create their own agents or use pre-built ones.
• To stay competitive in the AI arena, Freshworks has consolidated its AI teams for product and engineering into a single team. Additionally, it is also deploying AI to improve the productivity of various functions, as well as training teams to be conversant in AI and understand its applications for client businesses. 

Funding Alert

Startup: Mahaveer Finance

Amount: Rs 200 Cr

Round: Series C

Startup: Okinawa Autotec

Amount: Rs 60 Cr

Round: Equity

Startup

AI boost for micro businesses

Founded by Rounak Chindalia, Jaipur-based ShopIQ is an AI-SaaS startup that helps small and micro businesses launch and manage their digital storefronts. It works with instructions in seven languages as of now: English, Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, Telugu, Bengali, and Gujarati.

The company began operations in February 2025, offering a web-based platform that uses AI to automate website creation, cataloging, and online sales tools.

Beyond metros:

• ShopIQ focuses on Tier II and Tier III cities. About 30% of its users are from Tier II cities, and 3% from Tier III cities. As of now, the company has 300 registered merchants, including businesses like Pulp Official, JS Solitaire, and Odeon. 
• The company uses large language models such as Google’s Gemini, OpenAI’s GPT-4, and Claude from Anthropic specifically to help businesses with different tasks. The founder says ShopIQ has built its own system that decides which program works best, depending on what the user needs.
• ShopIQ is currently bootstrapped, with Chindalia investing around Rs 30 lakh from his savings. The company plans to raise $300,000 in a pre-seed round by July, the founder says. 

Investment

Investors cheer SEBI’s private investment reforms

Startup founders and promoters lauded a recent move by India’s capital markets regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), which has cleared a slate of reforms to open up new avenues for private capital investment, particularly through alternative investment funds (AIFs), while simultaneously easing ESOP rules for startup founders and streamlining angel fund operations.

News & updates

• On all fronts: An anti-Iranian hacking group with possible ties to Israel attacked one of Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, destroying nearly $90 million and threatening to expose the platform’s source code. The Nobitex exchange allegedly helps the Iranian government avoid sanctions and finance illicit operations.
• Rate cut: The Swiss National Bank has cut interest rates to zero but did not go so far as negative rates, as it battles to restrain its currency, which has surged on global trade tensions. The cut comes after annual inflation in Switzerland dipped to minus 0.1% in May.
• Breakthrough: The US FDA on Wednesday approved Gilead Sciences' twice-yearly injection to prevent HIV—a move the company hailed as a major breakthrough in the fight against the sexually transmitted virus. Lenacapavir has been shown to reduce the risk of HIV transmission by more than 99.9%.

Also called the Typhoon of Steel, what was one of the bloodiest battles fought in the Pacific Theatre during World War II?

Answer: The Battle of Okinawa. It claimed the lives of more than 12,000 Americans and 100,000 Japanese soldiers.

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