MoEngage bets on AI agents to challenge Salesforce and Adobe

Indian customer engagement software firm MoEngage has acquired San Francisco-based startup Aampe in an all-cash transaction. While the financial terms of the deal were not officially disclosed, a source familiar with the matter reported that the transaction was worth tens of millions of dollars. Founded in 2020, Aampe develops software that assigns a dedicated artificial intelligence agent to each customer. This technology allows consumer brands to personalize messaging based on individual behavior rather than relying on traditional audience segments and campaign rules. Under the terms of the agreement, around 20 Aampe employees will join MoEngage, bringing the company’s total workforce to roughly 820 people.

The acquisition aims to help MoEngage win enterprise customers from rival marketing platforms, specifically Salesforce and Adobe. Raviteja Dodda, MoEngage co-founder and chief executive, stated that the integration of Aampe’s technology will help the company compete with these incumbents. “A large part of our growth is driven by migrations of enterprise customers from Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Adobe Experience Cloud,” Dodda said. To support this trajectory, Dodda noted that MoEngage recently signed three to four multimillion-dollar annual contract value (ACV) deals with customers that switched from Salesforce.

Aampe brings its customer base and team to MoEngage. According to Dodda, the startup grew its annual recurring revenue (ARR) by 150% over the past year. Prior to the acquisition, Aampe had raised about $28 million across three funding rounds. The startup counts Peak XV Partners, Z47, and Theory Ventures among its investors. Aampe serves more than 30 customers across the U.S., Europe, and Asia-Pacific, including brands such as Swiggy, Grab, and Taxfix. Some of these brands already use MoEngage’s customer engagement platform.

In comparison, MoEngage operates on a larger scale, serving more than 1,350 consumer brands across 75 countries. Its client base spans sectors such as retail, financial services, media, and food delivery. The acquisition comes over six months after MoEngage raised $280 million through a mix of primary and secondary transactions. By integrating Aampe’s technology, MoEngage aims to transition from traditional automated messaging to autonomous AI agents that make individual customer decisions.

Why it matters

The acquisition signals a shift in marketing software from simple automation to autonomous AI agents, helping MoEngage compete directly with incumbents like Salesforce and Adobe for enterprise clients.