Like Alkira CEO Amir Khan and Jibble founder Asim Qureshi, engineer and entrepreneur Rashad Ali Jaffery is responding to life and business changed by the pandemic. His most recent tech startup Ingage plans to tackle digital customer service for enterprises using artificial intelligence.
As founder and COO, Ali raised $1 million during the company’s latest funding round. With this funding, Ingage soon plans to launch Aria, an AI virtual assistant for customer service-oriented businesses.
Rashad Ali Jaffery, founder of three prior tech startups
Serial entrepreneur Ali had already spearheaded successful start-ups prior to Ingage. For example, in 2005 he co-founded Manevir Systems to provide improved wireless internet multimedia service for mobile operators. Mitel Network Corporation acquired the telecommunication software startup for $560 million after it opened up stocks to public investors in 2015. Koch Stratgeic Platforms invested $500 million in April 2021, making the company worth hundreds of millions.
Prior to this, in 1998, Ali co-founded his very first startup IPmobile Inc. The wireless communications infrastructure company was acquired by Cisco two years later. Ali then spent the next two years there as director of Cisco’s Mobile Wireless Group.
After leaving Manevir Systems, Ali founded and became CEO of Entrata Systems in 2008. The company sprouted to address and develop mobile security software for enterprises. Since 2012, Ali has been a board member of wireless company Phazr and computer software company 2Cimple.
Rashad Ali Jaffery founds Ingage
Ali earned his B.S. in Electrical Engineering at the NED University of Engineering and Technology in Sindh, Pakistan. He then earned his master’s in electrical engineering from The University of Kansas. In 1994, Ali went on to work as a product manager for Texas-based telecommunications company Nortel Networks. He spent only two years there before co-founding IPmobile.
Ali has dedicated his expertise in mobile networks and wireless internet systems to various roles within software development, product management, and network planning. Most recently, the tech-savvy entrepreneur has put his leadership to use to develop artificial intelligence for consumer benefit.
Ingage uses latest funding to launch AI Virtual Assistant
In an increasingly remote and digital world, businesses require intelligent software to cater to mass markets. Ali founded Ingage in 2015 with the intention to provide smart artificial intelligence conversational services for company customer engagement.
“Aria can help your customers make new appointments, reschedule or cancel bookings, receive confirmation and reminders, and get directions and other details about your business,” reads the Ingage website.
The Texas-based AI assistant startup is still in its seed stage. In 2015, Ingage raised $1 million from investor iTime Fund, a firm also founded by Ali in 2014 and dedicated to growing businesses, according to Crunchbase.
Aria uses the latest speech and deep learning technologies to simulate the behavior of a human receptionist or customer service agent. The AI virtual assistant is launching soon as a software system subscription for enterprise and mobile markets.
Learn more on the Ingage website.
