Engagespot makes history by becoming the first Kerala Startup to join Techstars NYC Accelerator

Thiruvananthapuram: Thiruvananthapuram-based startup Engagespot has become the first startup from Kerala to gain a place in the prestigious Techstars New York City Accelerator Programme. Co-founded by Shiv Shankar, Anand Sukumaran and Anandu S, Engagespot was one of 12 startups globally selected for the 15-week flagship program held at Techstars’ New York City headquarters.

Techstars, a renowned accelerator with a network of more than 4,000 startups, including 150 unicorns, selects only high-potential startups for its programs. Engagespot’s selection marks a major achievement for Kerala’s growing presence in the global tech ecosystem, especially in the developer tools space.

Engagespot is revolutionizing user notifications, helping companies streamline and optimize their communications across channels like SMS, email, push notifications, and Slack. Many businesses struggle to find the right timing and medium for messaging, often missing the mark for users. Engagespot’s AI-powered system intelligently schedules and routes notifications, increasing engagement and reducing messaging costs by up to 50 percent.

Even though it’s only 11 months old, Engagespot has attracted user interest from more than 2,000 companies, including unicorn customers like Veho, Sameday, and Nivoda. The fact that the company has signed numerous contracts worth over $100,000 annually is a testament to its strong early impact in the market.

“The Techstars experience has been transformative. In 15 weeks, we increased our revenue fivefold, achieved operational profitability and increased our monthly growth rate to 25%,” said Shiv Shankar, CEO and Co-Founder. “We gained insight and connections from leading US technology advisors and investors, including the founders of Digital Ocean, Squarespace and Veho, which will be invaluable in moving our journey forward.”

CTO and Co-Founder Anand Sukumaran added: “Participating in Techstars NYC allowed us to directly test and quickly iterate our product with engineering leaders from leading companies. Beyond the program, the community and alumni network will continue to be an asset.”

During the program, Engagespot raised $250,000 from Techstars and angel investors such as Veho CTO Fred Cook and Great Valley Investments. With plans to expand its presence in North America, the company’s founders will continue their operations in New York while maintaining their engineering headquarters in Trivandrum. Engagespot aims to hire 20 engineers in the next financial year to support its growth. This milestone highlights Engagespot’s potential to become a major player in user notification solutions and strengthens Kerala’s role in the global technology landscape.