Remove friction from messy and time consuming work of managing business contacts
Raised pre-seed from 500 Global, currently looking to raise US$500k in its seed round
Premesh Chandran, CEO and Co-founder of software startup Awatar Innovations Sdn Bhd, which focuses on AI applications for business and government, today announced the launch of Sakura AI, a cutting-edge business assistant that runs directly on whatsapp. Designed to simplify the way professionals connect and manage contacts, Sakura AI combines the ease of messaging apps with the power of automation.
While he is better known in Malaysia and globally as a co-founder of pioneer independent online media, MalaysiaKini Sdn Bhd, Prem has launched a number of startups with Awatar Innovations launched in 2024 being his latest. The startup has raised an undisclosed pre-seed investment from 500 Global and is currently raising a seed round of US$500,000 (RM2.1 million).
“Networking is the lifeblood of business, but managing contacts is often messy and time-consuming,” said Prem. “Sakura AI takes away the friction. With just a photo on WhatsApp, your new contact is securely stored and an email introduction is on its way. It’s simple, fast, and reliable.”
With Sakura AI, users can simply snap a picture of a name card, and the bot will:
Instantly extract and save the information into a secure database
Organize and store contacts for easy access
Automatically draft and send a professional introduction email to the new contact
By leveraging WhatsApp’s ubiquity, Sakura AI ensures that users don’t need to download another app or learn a new platform. Everything happens seamlessly within the messaging app professionals already use daily.
“Useful technology can be simple. We see a lot of promise in tools that link the familiar with the future,” said Eshwaren M, CTO and co-founder of Awatar. ”It’s about lowering barriers, not raising them. If people can use what they already know—like WhatsApp—while tapping into automation, the possibilities are huge.”
The product is aimed at entrepreneurs, sales teams, and professionals who rely heavily on building and maintaining networks. Awatar Innovations is also exploring integrations with CRM platforms to make Sakura AI even more powerful for enterprise users.
“Actually the idea for Sakura AI came from my own struggle. I often found myself forgetting names and introductions after events, and it was frustrating. Now it solves that for me, and for others who face the same challenge,” said Razlan Rizal, COO and co-founder of Awatar Innovations.
Sakura AI is now available to all, free of charge, during this early release period. Interested individuals or companies can access the bot by visiting Sakura.awatar.chat. Put Sakura’s number into Whatsapp and get going.
For more information, [email protected]
