E-filing platform ClearTax acquires content discovery app

Income tax return e-filing platform ClearTax has acquired TOOTL, an infotainment app which offers personalised content using predictive tools.

The size and value of the deal was undisclosed.

ClearTax said in a statement that it will use TOOTL's technology to curate personalised tax, finance and compliance-related content on its website.

Owned and operated by Greeblu Enterprise Pvt. Ltd, Bengaluru-based TOOTL was founded by Arpit Mehta and Parijat Banerjee. Its propietary engine understands readers' preferences and pushes out relevant content to them. It aims to help users cover diverse topics of interest in short spells.

“This algorithm has been a great value-add to our existing systems. We will utilise the TOOTL technology to enhance customer engagement and provide tailored content,” said ClearTax founder and chief executive officer Archit Gupta.

The acquisition is part of ClearTax’s ongoing expansion plans to branch out into multiple domains.

The firm currently offers a range of products and services such as a mutual fund investment portal, Goods and Services Tax (GST) software, an EWayBill generator, Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) utility and business compliance services.

Last month, ClearTax announced a partnership with virtual coin exchange Zebpay to offer tax guidance on cryptocurrency.

ClearTax has also launched tax return filing services for those profiting from the sale of cryptocurrencies. The CA-assisted service offers tax planning as well.

According to ClearTax, its platform is used by more than 2.5 million users in India to e-file their tax returns besides more than 20,000 chartered accountants and tax professionals and thousands of businesses for tax and TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) returns.

The company further claims its GST-compliant billing and filing solution is used by 3.6 lakh businesses, 22,000 chartered accountants and tax professionals, and more than 500 large enterprises.

ClearTax had raised $12 million (around Rs 80 crore) in a Series A round of funding led by Ravi Adusumalli of SAIF Partners in June 2016.

It had previously raised $2 million in a pre-Series A round from PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund Angel (FF Angel) and Sequoia Capital.

In April 2016, ClearTax secured angel funding worth $1.3 million (around Rs 8.6 crore at the time) from Silicon Valley investors, including PayPal co-founder Max Levchin.