Exato Technologies Ltd. IPO Analysis

Exato Technologies is hitting the market with its IPO, aiming to capitalize on the growing demand for AI-driven customer-experience solutions. Let's see what they offer:

First, let’s cut straight to what’s working and what’s not for Exato Technologies — before diving into their history and numbers.

Now that you’ve seen the snapshot, let’s unpack the full story behind these numbers and understand the business in context.

Industry Analysis: Why does this industry matter now?

The CX and enterprise-automation industry is undergoing a major shift as companies move from legacy call-centres to AI-driven, omnichannel, cloud-based interaction platforms. Across BFSI, IT-ITES, healthcare, telecom, ecommerce and retail, firms are adopting sentiment analytics, automation and virtualised contact-centre solutions to cut costs and improve retention. 

In 2024, India’s call- and contact-centre outsourcing market generated about USD 3.86 billion and is expected to reach USD 9.04 billion by 2030 with a strong CAGR of around 15.2%. Meanwhile, tightening data-security and compliance requirements are increasing demand for secure communication infrastructure. 

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Exato Technologies was founded in 2016 as a contact-centre systems integrator and has since evolved into a full-stack Customer Transformation Partner delivering CX-as-a-Service and AI-driven enterprise solutions. It has served over 150 clients, including ET500 companies and runs long-term service contracts where 40% of revenue comes from multi-year engagements lasting up to 5 years. The firm operates with a team of 60+ engineers in India and services customers globally, including the US and Singapore, through subsidiaries and delivery partnerships. 

They work with well-known enterprise clients such as MakeMyTrip, RBL Bank, IGT Solutions, IKS, and WNS to deliver scalable and data-driven customer engagement solutions. The company is backed by notable tech alliances including NICE Ltd., Acumatica, and Mitel, enhancing its unified communication and CX capabilities. Exato’s core identity is enabling smarter, faster and automated customer interactions through AI, cloud, and digital transformation. 

The Services They Offer

These are the services provided by the company:

1. CX & Analytics Solutions

Exato enables customer support across phone, chat, WhatsApp, email, and social platforms in one system. AI chatbots handle basic queries automatically, while analytics identify sentiment patterns and customer pain-points. This helps companies improve satisfaction and reduce churn using data-driven insights.

2. Unified Communications & Infrastructure

Exato sets up secure cloud communication systems where calls, messages, and conferencing tools work smoothly. They integrate telecom technology with partners like NICE and Mitel and ensure regulatory-compliant communication. This creates a stable, scalable backbone for internal and external interactions.

3. Exato IQ — Intelligent Connectors & System Optimization

Exato IQ links enterprise tools like CRM, ERP, HR, and ticketing systems so data flows seamlessly between them. It also supports automated dialing, speech recognition, and performance monitoring. Simply put, it makes every CX component work efficiently together rather than as isolated systems.

4. CX as a Service (CXaaS)

Exato runs the full CX function for its clients — from system setup to ongoing management and optimization. Companies can outsource the entire customer-experience layer to Exato instead of building the capability in-house, resulting in lower costs and faster execution.

5. Automation as a Service (AaaS)

Exato automates routine support tasks such as ticket routing, ID verification, and CRM updates. This reduces manual effort, cuts response time, and allows support teams to focus on complex cases, improving overall productivity.

6. Workforce Management Solutions

Exato uses AI to forecast call volumes, plan agent schedules, and monitor productivity. This helps companies avoid understaffing or overstaffing, improving efficiency and agent performance.

7. Augmented Intelligence & Data Analytics

Exato provides real-time dashboards that track service quality, customer issues, resolution performance, and behavioral trends. This turns CX into a strategic decision tool, enabling better forecasting and smarter operational decisions.

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Exato operates on a dual business model combining recurring subscription income with one-time licensing revenue. The Recurring Revenue Model (ARR) comes from long-term CX and automation service contracts, software subscriptions, and ongoing support — providing predictable cash flow and stable customer retention. The Perpetual License Model involves one-time licensing of Exato’s tech assets, giving clients ownership of the deployment and generating upfront revenue, with optional maintenance or upgrade fees later. Together, these models balance stability with liquidity and cater to both opex-driven and capex-driven enterprise buyers.

Revenue from Operations (₹ lakhs)

Earlier years show that Perpetual licensing dominated (~52% in FY23 & FY24).
But by FY26, ARR has jumped to nearly 80% of revenue.

This shift is big. It means Exato is evolving into a SaaS-style, service-forward business with more predictable cash flow, long-term contracts, and lower churn risk.

Perpetual license income is shrinking as a % of revenue because enterprise buyers worldwide are moving from one-time software purchases to subscription-based access.

Strategic Partnerships With Big Players

1) NICE Ltd. — Platinum CX Partner

NICE is Exato’s most important partnership and a major strategic advantage. As a Platinum Partner in South Asia and the Middle East, and a four-time consecutive Partner of the Year (2021–2024). NICE gives Exato premium access to its CXOne platform, AI tools, and advanced analytics, enabling faster deployment of enterprise-grade CX solutions. This partnership strengthens Exato’s credibility with large clients, especially in regulated sectors like BFSI.

2) Acumatica — Cloud-Based ERP Enablement

Through Acumatica, Exato provides cloud-based ERP capabilities across finance, accounting and operations, extending its role from CX provider to full enterprise-workflow modernization. This integration aligns customer, operational, and financial data, and opens up a growing SaaS-ERP revenue stream.

3) Mitel — Unified Communications & Telephony Backbone

Mitel is a leading international player in business-communications infrastructure, Mitel equips Exato with secure, scalable voice and messaging infrastructure, enabling modern cloud-native telephony within its CX stack. This helps enterprises move away from legacy phone systems and ensures reliable, compliant communication environments.

Together, these partnerships let Exato provide end-to-end CX transformation:

• NICE brings AI-driven CX intelligence, routing, and analytics.

• Acumatica brings back-office operational & ERP capabilities.

• Mitel brings rock-solid communication backbone & call-infrastructure.

Revenue Distribution by Sector

Exato’s revenue mix shows how dependent it is on certain industries. Their key served industries include BFSI, Healthcare, Retail, Telecom, Manufacturing, and IT/ITeS & BPO/KPO — and these verticals drive the bulk of the recurring revenue through long-term engagements.

BFSI, IT/ITES, Retail, Healthcare and Telecom are major contributors, with BFSI being the highest-value and highest-margin vertical due to compliance, fraud-prevention requirements, and regulated-communication standards.

This shows that Exato mostly serves industries with strict rules and complex processes, which makes it harder for clients to switch providers and helps Exato keep them longer.

Revenue Split by Geography

Revenue from Operations (₹ in lakhs)

Historically, Exato was over 93% dependent on Indian clients.
In FY25, foreign revenue grew to ~24%.
By FY26, overseas revenue stabilized around ~25%.

This implies a strategic push to diversify beyond India, especially towards the UK, US, Singapore and others. This reduces overexposure to any single regulatory environment or domestic economic slowdown.

India Revenue Breakdown

These four states alone represent over 74% of domestic revenues, showing clear market clustering in Western & Central India.

The People Running the Show

Exato is led by founder-promoter Appuorv K. Sinha, who brings deep execution expertise in CX transformation and continues to anchor the company’s strategic direction. Pre-IPO, he holds 74.87% of the company, with the balance held by select HNIs and strategic shareholders like Vijay Kedia.

Post-IPO, his stake will dilute but remain dominant, ensuring leadership continuity. Notably, Exato hasn’t gone through VC fundraising or large equity rounds earlier, as it has grown through internal reinvestment and profitability rather than dilution. Overall, the firm operates with a stable promoter-led structure and disciplined capital history.

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Revenue jumped 73.5% in FY23, then 56.5% in FY24, and moderated to ~9% in FY25, which is natural when a company transitions from project-heavy to subscription-heavy revenue. 

While absolute revenue growth slowed, profitability improved materially: EBITDA margin expanded from ~8% in FY23 to 16% in H1 FY26, and PAT margin rose from ~4–7% to above 10%, signaling stronger unit economics and operational leverage.

Peer Comparison 

The company took black box ltd. as its peer which is not comparable on apple on apple basis. So, we took the peers as:

Exato trades at 9.7x P/E, far below One Point One (38x) and Alldigi (17x), which suggests the market is either undervaluing Exato or heavily discounting execution risk. 

Exato’s ROE of 23% is significantly higher than One Point One (10.2%) and only slightly below Alldigi (27.3%), showing it generates strong returns relative to its equity base.

Its EBITDA margin (12.6%) and PAT margin (7.9%) trail both peers. This basically signals a company still in scaling-up mode, absorbing growth and development costs, whereas the others are more mature and operationally optimized.

IPO Objectives

Exato will use the fresh issue proceeds for:

• Working capital needs

• Product development investment

• Repayment / prepayment of existing borrowings

• General corporate purposes

The product development spend will primarily focus on enhancing ExatoIQ connectors, AI-driven CX automation tools, and analytics dashboards while improving platform performance, increasing recurring revenue potential, and differentiating the company in competitive enterprise CX markets.

These objectives together suggest Exato is investing in growth, scaling its tech capabilities, and reducing financial leverage.

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At Alpha Venture X Fund, we apply our LMVT lens: Leadership, Moat, Valuation, Tailwinds, to identify scalable, defensible businesses. In Exato’s case, it’s leadership is anchored by founder Appuorv Sinha, who has steered the firm from integrator to CX-tech partner with strong BFSI and enterprise relationships. Its moat is still forming, supported by ExatoIQ, rising ARR, and alliances with NICE, Mitel, and Acumatica.

On valuation, the company appears attractively priced with strong ROE and potential upside as margins improve. Tailwinds include AI-driven CX adoption, omnichannel communication growth, and India’s BPM momentum.

Overall, Exato shows promise as an emerging CX-automation player with credible leadership and industry tailwinds. It suits investors willing to back long-term platform expansion rather than those seeking immediate margin optimization.

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