Freshdesk vs HubSpot

2023. HubSpot unveils strategy to integrate AI across the platform



HubSpot, the marketing and CRM platform, has unveiled its comprehensive AI strategy known as HubSpot AI. While the incorporation of AI elements has been an ongoing effort for HubSpot and other enterprise SaaS vendors, the advent of technologies like ChatGPT has prompted HubSpot to adopt a more extensive approach while retaining earlier features. The CRM database stores valuable company data, enabling users to gain insights into customer profiles, encompassing basic information, purchase history, customer service interactions, and more. HubSpot AI encompasses a four-pronged strategy, starting with content assistants that assist users in generating various content types across the platform. Additionally, AI agents, currently in different development stages, aim to automate customer service tasks and answer queries. The third component, AI Insights, provides predictive analytics, such as identifying customers likely to churn or make a purchase, a capability integrated into the platform over time.


2020. HubSpot’s new end-to-end sales hub aims to simplify CRM for mid-market customers



HubSpot, renowned for its role in shaping the concept of inbound marketing, has unveiled the HubSpot Sales Hub Enterprise. While the company has been providing a CRM tool for five years, which has successfully addressed the usability concerns of salespeople, the new offering aims to deliver a comprehensive approach that caters to the needs of not only sales professionals but also management and system administrators. HubSpot recognizes that larger players in the industry, such as Adobe, Salesforce, and SAP, typically acquire various components of the technology stack and integrate them into their solutions, or customers themselves piece together different elements. In contrast, HubSpot believes that developing a unified, integrated solution in-house will naturally result in a more user-friendly experience.


2020. HubSpot unveils new content management system for marketers



HubSpot, a renowned inbound marketing firm, has introduced a dedicated content management system (CMS) specifically designed to simplify the process of adding and updating content for marketing professionals. While content management has always been a fundamental aspect of HubSpot's offerings, this new CMS has been developed from scratch with marketers in mind. It provides developers with the flexibility to use their preferred programming languages while leveraging the modular structure of the HubSpot CMS. Simultaneously, the user-friendly interface empowers marketers to make frequent changes necessary for modern websites.


2020. Freshworks acquires AnsweriQ



Customer engagement platform Freshworks has completed the acquisition of AnsweriQ, a startup specializing in AI tools for self-service solutions and agent-assisted use cases. The primary objective of this acquisition is to enhance customer service efficiency by providing quick and accurate answers to customers. AnsweriQ's AI tools cater to both Freshworks users and customers of competing products. AnsweriQ will continue operating its existing product lineup for the time being, while Freshworks aims to eventually transition these users to its own platform. Additionally, Freshworks plans to integrate AnsweriQ's technology into its Freddy AI engine, further augmenting its capabilities.


2019. Freshworks raises $150M Series H on $3.5B valuation



Freshworks, a leading provider of SaaS helpdesk and CRM software, has recently secured a significant $150 million Series H investment, valuing the company at an impressive $3.5 billion. In addition to this funding, Freshworks has unveiled a new comprehensive data platform called the "Customer-for-Life Cloud," which seamlessly integrates across all its tools. This unified platform encompasses various aspects of the customer journey, including marketing, sales, support, and customer success. By consolidating data into a common model, businesses utilizing Freshworks gain a holistic view of the entire customer lifecycle. Since its launch in 2010, Freshworks has witnessed substantial growth and currently employs nearly 2,500 professionals. With this latest investment, the company is poised for further expansion. Freshworks boasts a global customer base of 250,000, with nearly 40,000 of them being paying customers. Renowned brands such as Bridgestone Tires, Honda, Hugo Boss, Toshiba, and Cisco are among Freshworks' valued clientele.


2018. HubSpot added customer service tools to its marketing platform



HubSpot is venturing beyond sales and marketing by officially introducing its Service Hub, a comprehensive solution for managing customer service. This expansion includes an all-in-one inbox for organizing all customer communications, a bot-builder to automate certain customer interactions, features for developing a company knowledge base (which can be utilized by the bot-builder), survey creation tools, and a dashboard for monitoring the performance of your service team. Service Hub is seamlessly integrated with HubSpot's existing products, enabling businesses to track customer interactions across sales, marketing, and support.


2017. HubSpot unveiled Conversations



CRM, marketing, sales, and customer experience provider HubSpot has introduced a range of product updates, including notable integrations with Facebook for advertising purposes, Shopify for ecommerce functionalities, and the introduction of a new tool called "Conversations." The Conversations tool, facilitated by chatbots, consolidates customer messages into a single inbox, representing the evolution of HubSpot's live chat platform. This unified messaging system becomes crucial during significant transitions, such as the handoff from sales to support. Key features of Conversations include seamless integration with HubSpot CRM and the ability to create chatbots, leveraging the technology obtained from HubSpot's recent acquisition of the chatbot platform, Motion AI. These updates aim to enhance customer interactions and streamline communication processes within the HubSpot platform.


2017. Marketing platform HubSpot acquires AI startup Kemvi



Inbound marketing and sales platform HubSpot has made an acquisition of Kemvi, a startup that utilizes artificial intelligence and machine learning to assist sales teams. A short while ago, Kemvi introduced DeepGraph, a product that examines public data to enable salespeople in identifying the optimal time (such as after a job transition or the release of an article) to connect with potential customers. Additionally, it takes proactive measures to verify leads. HubSpot was actively seeking innovative ways to incorporate AI technology into its platform as a means to combat competitors. The acquisition of Kemvi was especially attractive to HubSpot due to its ability to address a genuine requirement among salespeople.


2017. Freshdesk acquires chatbot startup Joe Hukum



Help desk service Freshdesk has made an acquisition of Joe Hukum, a startup based in India that specializes in providing a platform for businesses to create their own chatbots. Originally known as Speedy, Joe Hukum initially focused on developing its own personal assistant/concierge app to assist users in ordering goods and services. However, the company later shifted its focus to offer its platform as a service for building chatbots tailored to the needs of other businesses. Joe Hukum's knowledge tree coding is designed to automate sales, service, and support workflows. As part of the acquisition, the startup's team will utilize Freshworks' existing products to create chatbots, thereby enabling Freshdesk to differentiate itself from alternative services. This deal reflects the ongoing interest in chatbots within the customer support realm. Companies are seeking more efficient and cost-effective methods to provide essential information and assistance to their customers, and many see chatbots as a viable solution. Despite being in the early stages of development, the chatbot industry continues to evolve rapidly.


2017. Freshdesk acquired data integration startup Pipemonk



Freskdesk has recently completed the acquisition of Pipemonk, a startup based in Bangalore. Pipemonk specializes in facilitating the seamless transfer of data between various cloud applications, including CRM, eCommerce, marketing, and help desk services. This acquisition holds significant importance for Freshdesk, whose core product offerings revolve around customer service and help desk solutions. Pipemonk offers more than just a generic data automation capability; it presents practical benefits in-house by consolidating the diverse array of services that Freshdesk has acquired during its series of strategic acquisitions over the past 16 months.