How Freshworks Built an AI-Powered SaaS Business From India for the World

Most Indian business success stories that reach mainstream media are consumer brands, food delivery apps or fintech platforms. Freshworks is a different kind of story: a business software company founded in Chennai that built products for customers around the world and eventually listed on a US stock exchange. Understanding the Freshworks business model growth strategy offers valuable lessons for Indian founders building software for global markets, including how the company has approached AI. This profile draws on publicly available information, including the company's investor disclosures and press coverage.

This article is educational and not investment advice. Company details, products and leadership change over time; consult Freshworks' latest public filings for current information.

Origins in Chennai

Freshworks was founded in 2010 in Chennai by Girish Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamy. The company began with a customer support product, originally called Freshdesk, aimed at businesses that found established helpdesk software expensive and complicated. The Freshworks success story India entrepreneurs often cite began with a simple insight: many businesses wanted capable software that was easier to adopt and more affordable than the incumbents.

Building software for global customers from Chennai was unusual at the time, when many Indian technology companies focused on IT services for foreign clients rather than products of their own. The Freshworks success story India technology circles discuss is partly significant because it demonstrated that an Indian team could build and sell a global software product rather than providing outsourced services.

From one product to a suite

Over time, Freshworks expanded beyond customer support into other business software categories, including IT service management, sales CRM and marketing tools, with products such as Freshservice and Freshsales. Expanding into a suite allowed the company to sell more products to existing customers and compete across several categories. In recent years, publicly available materials have indicated a strong focus on its customer service and IT service management products.

A suite strategy has advantages and risks. It increases revenue per customer and makes products stickier, since customers using several tools from one vendor are less likely to switch. But it also spreads investment across more products and puts the company in competition with specialists in each category. Freshworks' later focus on its strongest product lines reflects the trade-offs involved.

The Freshworks business model

Freshworks operates a software-as-a-service model. Customers pay recurring subscription fees, typically per user or agent, with tiered plans offering more features at higher prices. The company has served customers ranging from small businesses to larger mid-market and enterprise organisations. Recurring revenue, expansion within existing customers, and retention are central to the economics, as with most SaaS companies. Our guide to GST on SaaS subscriptions explains some practical considerations for Indian SaaS businesses.

Indian SaaS company global expansion

A defining feature of the Freshworks story is its global orientation from early on. Rather than focusing primarily on the Indian market, the company sold to customers in the United States, Europe and other regions, many of whom discovered its products online. It built a large team in India while establishing a significant presence abroad, eventually moving its headquarters to the United States. This approach has become a template for Indian SaaS company global expansion: build product and engineering capability in India while selling to international customers who are often willing to pay more for business software.

This model also helped lower costs relative to competitors with predominantly US-based teams, allowing more competitive pricing while maintaining healthy margins. At the same time, the company invested in sales, marketing and support capabilities in its key markets, recognising that customers often want local presence and responsive service.

Product-led growth and ease of use

Freshworks has been associated with making business software easier to try, buy and use. Free trials, transparent pricing, simple setup and intuitive design helped attract customers who were frustrated by complex implementations. This product-led approach reduced the need for large sales teams for smaller customers, while a sales organisation could focus on larger accounts. Ease of use became a meaningful differentiator against established competitors.

This approach also suited Freshworks' global ambitions. Customers in distant markets could discover, try and buy its software online without needing local sales teams, which made international expansion faster and cheaper than a traditional enterprise sales model would have allowed.

Going public

In 2021, Freshworks listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange in the United States, a milestone widely reported as a landmark for India-origin software companies. The listing brought greater visibility, access to capital and the disclosure obligations of a public company. It also made Freshworks an important reference point for India origin SaaS unicorn companies considering similar paths. Many early employees in India reportedly benefited from equity ownership, a development that drew attention to the role of employee stock options in Indian startups.

Public company status also requires regular disclosure of performance, which makes Freshworks one of the few India-origin software companies whose results can be followed closely.

Leadership evolution

Like many companies scaling from startup to public company, Freshworks has seen leadership changes. Public announcements in 2024 indicated that a new chief executive took over from the founder, who moved to a different role at the time. Such transitions are common as companies mature and their priorities shift toward profitability, operational discipline and focus.

Founder transitions of this kind are often a sign of a company entering a new stage, with different skills needed to run it at scale.

Freshworks AI product strategy

The Freshworks AI product strategy has centred on embedding AI into its existing products rather than launching a separate AI business. Under the Freddy AI brand, the company has introduced capabilities such as AI assistants for support agents, automated responses and self-service bots for customers, and AI features for IT teams. The goal is to help customers resolve support tickets faster, reduce workload and improve service quality. AI features may be offered as part of higher plans or as add-ons, a common pattern among SaaS companies monetising AI.

For customers, the practical value of the Freshworks AI product strategy lies in measurable outcomes, such as faster ticket resolution, fewer repetitive questions reaching human agents and better self-service experiences. Embedding AI inside tools customers already use also avoids asking them to adopt a separate product, which can speed adoption.

Competition

Freshworks competes with large global software companies in customer service, IT service management and CRM, as well as with newer AI-native startups. Competing on price and ease of use has been part of its positioning, but large competitors also invest heavily in AI and product improvements. Maintaining differentiation in a crowded market remains an ongoing challenge.

The rise of AI-native customer service tools adds a new kind of competition. Startups building AI-first support platforms promise to automate large shares of customer interactions, pressuring established vendors to show that their AI features deliver comparable results within familiar products.

Lessons for Indian founders

The Freshworks story offers several lessons. Build for a global market from the start if your product suits it. Use India's engineering talent to build world-class products cost-effectively. Make software easy to adopt to reduce sales costs. Expand into adjacent products for existing customers. Use employee equity to build a committed team. And embed AI where it genuinely improves customer outcomes rather than treating it as a separate gimmick. Our guide to registering a SaaS startup in India covers practical foundations for founders on this path.

Another lesson concerns timing. Freshworks built its products and customer base over many years before listing publicly. Patient, steady growth, combined with a clear focus on customer value, allowed it to reach a scale where it could become an India origin SaaS unicorn and later a public company. Founders hoping for rapid outcomes should note how long this kind of success typically takes.

Challenges and trade-offs

Global expansion brings trade-offs, including higher marketing costs in competitive markets, complex operations across countries and the need to compete with well-funded incumbents. Public companies face pressure for consistent growth and profitability. Freshworks' journey illustrates both the opportunity and the difficulty of building a global software company from India.

Currency movements, global economic cycles and changes in technology spending by businesses also affect SaaS companies selling internationally, adding further complexity to planning and growth.

Summary: Freshworks business model growth strategy

The Freshworks business model growth strategy combined affordable, easy-to-use SaaS products, global customer acquisition from an Indian base, expansion into a product suite, a public listing on Nasdaq and the integration of AI into its core products. For Indian founders building software businesses, it remains one of the most instructive examples of how to compete globally. Always consult the company's latest disclosures for current performance and strategy.

Frequently asked questions

Who founded Freshworks?

Girish Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamy founded Freshworks in Chennai in 2010.

How does Freshworks make money?

Through recurring subscriptions to its business software, typically priced per user or agent, with tiered plans and add-ons.

When did Freshworks go public?

Freshworks listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange in 2021.

How does Freshworks use AI?

It embeds AI features, under the Freddy AI brand, into its customer service and IT service management products.