Travel chatbot provider Mindsay acquired by automation specialist Laiye

Paris-based Mindsay, a startup that automates customer service interactions using chat and voice bots, has been acquired by Laiye, a Beijing-based global provider of intelligent automation software. 

Financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed.

Mindsay, founded in 2016, works with brands across a variety of industries such as retail, fintech, mobility and travel and hospitality, including hotels, airlines, airports, online travel agencies and rail companies. Its artificial intelligence-based solutions automate up to 80% of customer requests and can respond in 110 languages.

“More companies have realized the vital role that chatbots, powered by conversational Al, play in enabling powerful self-service experiences, and Mindsay has been key in driving this space,” says Guillaume Laporte, co-founder and CEO of Mindsay.

“We are incredibly excited to join Laiye at this pivotal time. We are extremely impressed by the outstanding quality of Laiye's teams and technology. Together we will be able to provide more value to our customers worldwide.”

Laporte becomes general manager of Laiye's international chatbot business and Mindsay co-founder Ilias Hicham becomes head of product for that business, while additional co-founder Pierre Pakey becomes head of product innovation for the intelligent document process product line.

Laiye says the addition of Mindsay’s conversational AI will help it become a leader in providing intelligent automation software worldwide, and the company plans to open a new research and development hub in Paris.

“The acquisition of Mindsay gives our clients a powerful, low-code and no-code technology to automate customer service and back-office processes. Combine that with our robotic process automation offering to streamline repetitive workflows and a conversational interface that understands human language, and you have a cutting-edge platform to digitize and automate key parts of your business," says Ronen Lamdan, CEO International of Laiye.

In June 2020 Mindsay partnered with Sabre, and in May 2019 Mindsay raised $10 million in Series A funding led by White Star Capital with participation from customers Paris Aeroports and Accor.