US customer service platform Zendesk is acquiring Forethought, a company building software to automate customer service interactions, with the deal expected to close by end of March according to a TechCrunch report.

Forethought was the 2018 winner of TechCrunch Battlefield startup pitch competition, years ahead of current AI agent trends. Following its Battlefield win, the US-based startup landed marquee customers including Upwork, Grammarly, Airtable, and Datadog, supporting more than one billion monthly customer interactions by 2025.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Forethought raised total funding of USD 115 million (€99.62 million) from backers including Blue Cloud Ventures, NEA, Industry Ventures, Neo, Village Global, and Sound Ventures, alongside angels including May Habib, Scott Wu, Karan Goel, and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Deon Nicholas, Forethought AI co-founder and chairman, stated, "More than seven years ago, we set out with a simple but ambitious idea: AI could transform the customer experience. When we first launched Forethought at TechCrunch Disrupt, that vision felt bold—even a little crazy. Today, AI agents aren't just transforming customer experience. They're transforming every industry imaginable."

Zendesk will continue supporting Forethought's existing customers and integrate the startup's technology into its own AI products, including more specialised agents, self-improving AI, voice automation, and more autonomous capabilities. 

The company stated the acquisition accelerates its product roadmap by more than one year.

The integration is expected to enhance Zendesk's ability to deliver autonomous customer service experiences whilst reducing response times and operational costs for enterprise clients. 

Forethought's proven track record of processing over one billion monthly interactions positions Zendesk to scale AI-driven customer support capabilities across its global customer base.

Discover how customer service platforms are advancing agentic automation through strategic acquisitions in the complete article.