Ishan Agrawal, the former Group Chief Technology Officer of SME digital finance platform Funding Societies, has embarked on a new entrepreneurial journey with the co-founding of Branch AI.
With over 7 years of experience in building and scaling Funding Societies from seed stage to Series D, Agrawal, alongside co-founders Govind Chandrasekhar and Praveen Sekar, are steering their expertise towards building Branch AI.
Branch AI, which has received backing from the startup accelerator Y Combinator, aims to simplify and enhance the search experience for e-commerce businesses.
The startup leverages advanced artificial intelligence models to understand product catalogs and user intents, automating the process of tuning search relevance.
This innovation promises to transform product searches into a more efficient and intuitive process, potentially boosting e-commerce conversions significantly.
The core problem that Branch AI addresses stems from the evolving nature of search queries, which are becoming increasingly conversational and intent-based, partly due to the influence of technologies like ChatGPT.
Despite this shift, many e-commerce platforms continue to rely on traditional keyword search engines, which can result in missed revenue opportunities.
Branch AI’s solution offers a straightforward three-step process that involves connecting product catalogs, utilising large language models (LLMs) for automatic tuning, and providing ready-to-use search APIs that enhance conversion rates.
The company’s approach brings numerous benefits, including a reduction in operational complexity and costs traditionally associated with search tuning.
It also promises to boost conversion for long-tail, low-click, and zero-result queries, addressing a common challenge for e-commerce platforms.
Moreover, the technology is designed to prevent the degradation of search quality due to changes in catalog or trends, while effortlessly aligning search behavior with merchandising needs, enabling a more personalised shopping experience for users.
Ishan Agrawal
Ishan said in a LinkedIn post,
“Taking this leap into entrepreneurship comes with a blend of excitement, anticipation and admittedly, a lot of apprehension. I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all the friends, family and mentors, whose encouragement, advice, and conviction in my abilities over the years have enabled me to take this leap of faith.”
Featured image credit: Edited from Freepik
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- Source: https://fintechnews.sg/89305/ai/former-funding-societies-cto-ishan-agrawal-launches-yc-backed-branch-ai/
