LogMeIn buys AI chatbot maker Nanorep

Remote access software maker LogMeIn is acquiring Israeli software firm Nanorep for around $45 million.

Nanorep’s platform uses AI and natural language processing technologies to build chatbots and virtual assistants for online customer service. Its pitch is that its tools are out-of-the-box and easy to use but also able to scale. Nanorep says it has more than 500 large customers, including Intuit, FedEx, Toys’R’Us, and Vodafone.

As for LogMeIn, a company best known for its collaboration and meeting tools and acquiring the GoTo product line from Citrix in January, the deal is part of its effort to become a more significant player in the customer relationship management market. It’s also a way to pad its portfolio with more chatbot services, something Gartner predicts will account for 30 percent of all customer service interactions by 2022.

In June, LogMeIn launched the Bold360 suite, which aims to provide one view of all customer touch points as well a unified interface that can handle chat, text, and video. It also offers automation technology to enable customer self service support and free up agent workflows.

LogMeIn wants to use Nanorep to add digital self-service capabilities to the Bold360 product portfolio.

“Artificial intelligence is changing the way we interact with our favorite brands and will play a critical role in the future of customer engagement,” said LogMeIn CEO Bill Wagner.

“With Nanorep, we gain proven technology and AI expertise that expands our Bold360 offering, accelerates our customer engagement vision and provides a natural path for us to leverage these emerging technologies across our entire portfolio.”

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