Atlassian acquires US-based AI chatbot vendor Percept.AI

Australian software giant Atlassian has acquired US-based artificial intelligence company Percept.AI for an undisclosed sum.

Percept.AI specialises in virtual agent technology powered by a proprietary AI engine for natural language understanding. Its platform helps teams automate tier-1 support interactions via multiple channels like portal, chat, email and web.

Atlassian said the acquisition would bolster its frontline support capabilities in Jira Service Management, the vendor’s ITSM software offering.

“This acquisition builds on our previous investments in AI and machine learning, designed to help customers efficiently deliver great employee and customer support experiences at high velocity,” Atlassian head of project management Edwin Wong said in a blog post.

Atlassian added that the acquisition also comes amid the growing popularity of employees looking to work remotely, citing its own commissioned research with PwC Australia from July 2021.

“As a result, enterprises are being forced to rethink the capabilities and structure of their support experience,” Wong said. “Gone are the days of simple walk-up support. Every company, regardless of size, needs to offer responsive, personalized, high-quality 24/7 virtual support to customers and employees.”

Wong added that integrating Percept.AI’s tech into Jira Service Management would allow support teams to deliver service faster and at scale.

Along with the acquisition, Atlassian also reported bumper FY2022 half-year results on the back of customer and subscription growth.

In the six months ended 31 December 2021, the company reported US$1.3 billion, up from US$960.9 million year over year. It also posted a net loss of US$477.5 million, compared to US$643 million the previous year.

Atlassian also revealed it scored 10,000 net new customers in Q2 2022, with 98 percent of them using cloud.

Atlassian co-founder and co-CEO Scott Farquhar said the results reflect the company’s continued investment in its cloud platform and its “strong focus and effort” into helping customers move to the cloud.

Co-founder and co-CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes also highlighted the growth of Atlassian Marketplace, saying it has surpassed US$2 billion in sales.

“We recognise that the opportunities for Atlassian, our customers and our partners have never been greater as companies accelerate their future of work transformations, and we’re incredibly proud of this partner ecosystem which is fuelling innovation and helping to deliver on our mission to unleash the potential of every team,” Cannon-Brookes said.