Freshworks

Corporate brand

Freshworks is a cloud software company offering customer-service, CRM, IT service-management, and related business applications.

Last updated August 31, 2026

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Overview

Freshworks is a software-as-a-service company whose products help businesses manage customer interactions, sales activity, internal technology services, and related operational workflows. The company was founded in Chennai, India, in 2010 by Girish Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamy, both former employees of Zoho. It initially operated under the name Freshdesk, reflecting its first major product: a cloud-based customer-support platform designed to help organizations handle tickets, service requests, knowledge bases, and customer communications. The company’s early proposition was built around making business software easier to deploy and use than many traditional enterprise systems. Rather than requiring extensive on-premises infrastructure or long implementation projects, its products were delivered through the cloud and marketed to organizations seeking relatively accessible tools for customer support and employee service operations. Freshdesk became the foundation for a broader product portfolio and helped the company attract investment from venture capital firms including Accel, Tiger Global Management, Sequoia Capital, and CapitalG. Freshworks expanded beyond customer support during the 2010s. It launched Freshservice, an IT service-management product, in 2014, adding capabilities such as incident handling, service requests, and software and hardware asset management. In 2015, the company acquired 1CLICK.io, Konotor, and Frilp, broadening its technology and product capabilities. In 2016, it introduced Freshsales, a customer-relationship-management application intended to support sales teams with contact management, lead tracking, and related workflows. These moves established the basis of a multi-product business spanning customer experience, sales, and employee or IT service management. The corporate identity changed from Freshdesk to Freshworks in 2017 as the company broadened its ambitions beyond its original help-desk product. Its headquarters moved to San Mateo, California, in 2018, while the business retained important roots and operations in India. Freshworks subsequently positioned itself as a provider of business software for organizations that wanted a unified but comparatively straightforward alternative to complex enterprise application suites. The company became publicly traded through an initial public offering in 2021. The offering raised approximately $1.03 billion, according to the cited reference material, and gave Freshworks additional resources and public-market visibility. Its public-company period has included continued investment in product development, platform integration, and IT operations management. In 2024, Freshworks acquired Device42, an IT-management company, for a reported $230 million, strengthening its capabilities in infrastructure discovery and technology-asset visibility. Leadership also changed in 2024, when founder Girish Mathrubootham became executive chairman and Dennis Woodside became chief executive officer. The business continues to focus on cloud applications for customer and employee experiences, with Freshdesk, Freshservice, Freshsales, and associated products forming its principal commercial lines. Freshworks serves organizations across multiple regions and industries, although its exact customer and geographic mix changes over time. Its central brand promise is generally associated with practical, comparatively approachable software that enables service and business teams to work without the complexity traditionally associated with large enterprise systems.

History

Freshworks began in 2010 in Chennai, India, when former Zoho employees Girish Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamy founded a company originally known as Freshdesk. Its initial product addressed customer-support operations through a cloud-based help-desk system. The approach appealed to organizations that wanted to deploy service software without maintaining traditional on-premises infrastructure or undertaking lengthy enterprise implementations. During its early growth, Freshdesk attracted funding from venture investors including Accel, Tiger Global Management, Sequoia Capital, and CapitalG. The company used this support to expand engineering, sales, and its product range. In 2014 it introduced Freshservice, an IT service-management platform covering functions such as incident management, service requests, and software and hardware asset management. This move extended the company from external customer support into internal employee and technology services. Freshworks made several acquisitions in 2015, purchasing 1CLICK.io, Konotor, and Frilp. In 2016, it launched Freshsales, a CRM application for sales teams. These developments helped establish a portfolio strategy rather than a single-product identity. In 2017, the company renamed itself Freshworks Inc., signaling that its business had expanded beyond the Freshdesk help-desk brand. The following year, its headquarters moved from Chennai to San Mateo, California, while India remained an important part of its corporate and operating history. The company continued to develop cloud products for customer experience, sales, marketing, IT operations, and employee service. Its brand strategy centered on software that could be adopted and administered more easily than many complex enterprise suites. Freshworks therefore competed in markets containing established vendors such as Zendesk, Salesforce, ServiceNow, and other customer-service and IT-management providers, while emphasizing a comparatively accessible user experience and a connected product family. In 2020, Zoho accused Freshworks of taking intellectual property. The legal dispute was settled in 2021. Also in 2021, Freshworks completed an initial public offering that raised approximately $1.03 billion, giving the company access to public capital and increasing scrutiny of its financial and operating performance. Freshworks expanded its IT-management capabilities through the acquisition of Device42 in 2024 for approximately $230 million. Device42 brought technology for infrastructure discovery and IT-asset visibility, complementing Freshservice and related service-management products. That year also brought a leadership transition: founder Girish Mathrubootham became executive chairman and Dennis Woodside became chief executive officer. According to the supplied reference material, Freshworks agreed in December 2025 to acquire FireHydrant, an incident-management platform using artificial intelligence, and completed the transaction in January 2026. The same material reports that 2025 was Freshworks’ first GAAP-profitable year, with $183.7 million in net income and $838.8 million in revenue. In March 2026 the company appointed Ian Tickle as chief revenue officer, and in April 2026 it introduced a new IT Asset Management product while renaming its prior offering IT Asset Management-Classic. These later developments illustrate the company’s continuing effort to deepen its IT service-management portfolio while maintaining its broader customer- and employee-experience software strategy.

2024
Device42 acquisition
[1]Freshworksen.wikipedia.org
Freshworks acquired Device42 for approximately $230 million, adding infrastructure and IT-asset management capabilities.
2021
Initial public offering
[1]Freshworksen.wikipedia.org
Freshworks completed an IPO that raised approximately $1.03 billion.
2018
Headquarters move to California
[1]Freshworksen.wikipedia.org
Freshworks moved its headquarters to San Mateo, California.
2017
Corporate name changes to Freshworks
[1]Freshworksen.wikipedia.org
Freshdesk changed its corporate name to Freshworks as the business broadened its product scope.
2016
Freshsales launches
[1]Freshworksen.wikipedia.org
Freshworks introduced a CRM product for sales teams.
2015
Three acquisitions expand the platform
[1]Freshworksen.wikipedia.org
The company acquired 1CLICK.io, Konotor, and Frilp.
2014
Freshservice launches
[1]Freshworksen.wikipedia.org
Freshworks entered IT service management with a product covering incidents, service requests, and technology assets.
2010
Freshdesk is founded
[1]Freshworksen.wikipedia.org
Girish Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamy founded the company in Chennai, India, initially under the Freshdesk name.

Products and positioning

Freshworks positions its products as cloud-native, user-friendly business software for customer-service, sales, IT, and employee-service teams. The brand emphasizes faster deployment and simpler administration than many traditional enterprise software platforms, while offering an integrated portfolio for organizations that want to connect customer and internal service workflows.

Customer-service and help-desk software · 2010
Freshdesk
Freshdesk is Freshworks’ original customer-support platform. It provides cloud tools for organizing customer inquiries, support tickets, service workflows, knowledge resources, and communications across support channels. It established the company’s initial market identity and remains one of its best-known offerings.
IT service-management software · 2014
Freshservice
Freshservice is an IT service-management platform for internal technology teams and employee service operations. Its capabilities include incident management, service-request tracking, workflow automation, and software and hardware asset management. The product helped Freshworks expand from customer support into enterprise IT operations.
Customer relationship management · 2016
Freshsales
Freshsales is Freshworks’ CRM application for sales organizations. It is designed to help teams organize contacts and accounts, manage leads and opportunities, and coordinate sales activity within a cloud-based system. Its launch marked a significant expansion into revenue and customer-relationship workflows.
Marketing and customer-experience software
Freshmarketer
Freshmarketer is associated with Freshworks’ customer and e-commerce marketing software portfolio. It supports digital engagement and marketing workflows intended to help organizations attract, understand, and convert customers.
IT infrastructure discovery and asset management
Device42
Device42 provides infrastructure discovery and technology-asset visibility capabilities. Freshworks acquired the company in 2024 to strengthen its IT-management portfolio and complement the asset and service-management functions of Freshservice.
IT asset management · 2026
IT Asset Management
Introduced in 2026 according to the supplied reference material, IT Asset Management is intended to manage an organization’s technology stack. It replaced the prior asset-management tool, which was renamed IT Asset Management-Classic, and was initially made available to part of the user base.

Controversies

2020
Zoho intellectual-property dispute
Zoho accused Freshworks of stealing or misappropriating intellectual property. The dispute became a lawsuit and was settled in 2021. The available reference material does not specify the settlement terms.
Source

2025
Agree to acquire FireHydrantM&A
Background
Freshworks sought to expand its IT service-management portfolio into incident management and related operational workflows.
Action taken
Freshworks agreed to acquire FireHydrant, an incident-management platform powered by artificial intelligence.
Aftermath
The supplied reference material states that the acquisition closed in January 2026.
Source
2024
Acquire Device42M&A
Background
Freshworks sought to strengthen its IT service-management and technology-asset capabilities.
Action taken
Freshworks acquired Device42 for approximately $230 million.
Aftermath
The acquisition added infrastructure discovery and IT-asset visibility to Freshworks’ broader IT-management portfolio.
Acquisition consideration. $230 million (May 2024)
Source
2024
Change chief executive leadershipStrategy
Background
Freshworks entered a new phase of public-company development and product expansion under its founding leadership.
Action taken
Girish Mathrubootham became executive chairman and Dennis Woodside succeeded him as chief executive officer.
Aftermath
The transition separated the founder’s board-level role from day-to-day executive leadership.
Source
2021
Complete an initial public offeringOther
Background
After years of venture funding and product expansion, Freshworks pursued access to public capital and a public-market listing.
Action taken
Freshworks completed an IPO that raised approximately $1.03 billion.
Aftermath
The transaction made Freshworks a publicly traded software company and increased public visibility into its performance.
IPO proceeds. $1.03 billion raised (2021 initial public offering)
Source
2017
Adopt the Freshworks corporate nameStrategy
Background
The company had expanded from its original Freshdesk help-desk product into CRM, IT service management, and other business applications.
Action taken
Freshdesk changed its corporate name to Freshworks Inc.
Aftermath
The new identity supported a broader multi-product positioning while Freshdesk remained a product brand.
Source

Recent events

2026.10.29
Reported2026.10.29
Freshworks announces acquisition of Robusta Dev[3]Freshworks宣布收购Robusta Devthehindubusinessline.com
Freshworks announced the acquisition of Robusta Dev, an AI-powered incident intelligence engine. The article says the acquisition is expected to strengthen Freshservice’s incident management and IT operations capabilities.
2021.09.29
Reported2021.09.29
Freshworks appoints Jennifer Taylor to its board[4]Freshworks 任命 Jennifer Taylor 为董事会成员finance.yahoo.com
Freshworks announced Jennifer Taylor’s appointment as a new independent member of its board of directors.
2021.09.22
Reported2021.09.22
Freshworks completes IPO and lists on Nasdaq[5]Freshworks完成首次公开募股并在纳斯达克上市businesstoday.in
Freshworks completed an initial public offering of more than $1 billion and debuted on Nasdaq. It sold 28.5 million Class A common shares at $36 per share.
2021.09.21
Reported2021.09.22
Freshworks announces IPO pricing[6]Freshworks宣布首次公开募股定价prnewswire.com
Freshworks announced pricing of its initial public offering at $36 per share. The shares were expected to begin trading on Nasdaq on September 22, 2021, and the offering was expected to close on September 24, subject to customary closing conditions.
2021.08.27
Reported2021.08.29
Freshworks files for a US IPO[7]Freshworks提交美国IPO申请timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Freshworks filed for an initial public offering on Nasdaq in the United States. The article reported that the offering was listed at $100 million, subject to change as terms were defined.
Unconfirmed
Reported2020.07.10
Freshworks acquires Flint[8]Freshworks收购Flintfinancialexpress.com
Freshworks acquired Flint, an IT orchestration and cloud management platform, for an undisclosed sum.
2020.07.09
Reported2020.07.09
Freshworks completes acquisition of Flint[9]Freshworks完成对Flint的收购prnewswire.com
Freshworks announced that it had completed its acquisition of Flint, adding Flint's automation and cloud management capabilities to Freshservice and Freshworks' IT management offerings.
2020.06.17
Reported2020.06.17
Freshworks and TCS announce strategic partnership[10]Freshworks 与 TCS 宣布建立战略合作伙伴关系business-standard.com
Freshworks announced a strategic partnership with TCS. TCS will provide global experience, market presence, customer-engagement knowledge and digital offerings.
2020.06.17
Reported2020.06.17
Freshworks and TCS announce strategic partnership[11]Freshworks与TCS宣布建立战略合作伙伴关系prnewswire.com
Freshworks announced a strategic partnership with TCS to jointly build and market customer engagement and ITSM solutions on Freshworks cloud software.
2020.02.26
Reported2020.02.26
Freshworks announced its acquisition of AnsweriQ[12]Freshworks宣布收购AnsweriQprnewswire.com
Freshworks announced that it acquired AnsweriQ, whose AI technology complements Freshworks' customer-service offerings.

Sources21 sources

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