Afiniti

Last updated
Afiniti
Company type Private
Industry Software development
Genre Artificial intelligence
Founded2005 in Washington, D.C., United States
Founders Zia Chishti
HeadquartersHamilton,
Bermuda
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Jerome Kapelus (CEO)
Number of employees
1,300 [1]  (2021)
Website www.afiniti.com

Afiniti is a multinational company specializing in artificial intelligence applications for customer experience optimization in contact centers, founded in 2005. The firm develops patented technologies that employ machine learning to analyze interaction patterns and dynamically pair customers with agents, aiming to enhance outcomes such as sales conversion, customer satisfaction, and operational efficiency across sectors including telecommunications, financial services, healthcare, and insurance.

Contents

History

2006–2010: Initial years

In 2006, Afiniti was founded in Washington, D.C. by Zia Chishti, a former Morgan Stanley investment banker who had previously co-founded Align Technology, with the help of his partners at The Resource Group (TRG), Hasnain Aslam and Mohammed Khaishgi of the Kheshgi family. [1] [2] In 2008, the company submitted several patents related to matching caller data with computer models, which were granted in 2014. [3]

2011–2020: Growth Period

In late 2016, the company confidentially filed for a potential future initial public offering (IPO). [4] [5] [6] Around that time, Afiniti also introduced software to run phone numbers "through a variety of databases prior to when a call center agent picks up the phone." The system referred to around 100 databases to gather information on callers, including from public profiles such as Twitter. According to Fortune magazine, the system operated on "the idea that it's possible, using thousands of call records, to determine which agents perform best with certain type of customers." [7]

According to The Wall Street Journal , by January 2017, the company had installed its artificial intelligence software in around 150 call centers for several dozen companies, [8] among them Caesars Entertainment Corporation and Sprint. [7] In 2017, the company closed a fourth round of venture funding, [4] bringing in $80 million [4] from investors such as GAM, McKinsey & Co, Elisabeth Murdoch, and John Browne. The round brought the company's total funding raised since its inception to $100 million. [4] [9] Afiniti signed a deal with Huawei in September 2017 [10] and Avaya in April 2018. [11]

In January 2018, Fortune magazine included Afiniti on its list of the 100 companies "leading the way in A.I." [12] By June 2018, Afiniti had been active in 18 countries and had 1,000 employees. [1] [6]

2021–2024: Resignation of Zia Chishti

In November 2021, Zia Chishti stepped down as chairman, chief executive officer and director following allegations of sexual assault to an employee made in testimony to the United States House Committee on the Judiciary. [13] The former UK prime minister David Cameron left his role as chair of Afiniti's advisory board following the allegations. [14] The board appointed Larry Babbio as interim CEO to lead the company through the transition. [15]

On September 27, 2023, the board named Hassan Afzal as CEO, succeeding Babbio, citing Afzal's experience in scaling technology businesses and his prior role as an Afiniti board member since 2021. [16]

Facing mounting financial pressures, including over $580 million in liabilities, Afiniti entered restructuring proceedings in September 2024, securing a support agreement with 100% of its secured lenders and initiating provisional liquidation in Bermuda for debt reorganization and asset transfer to a new entity. [17]

2025-Present: Post Restructuring

On February 10, 2025, Jerome Kapelus was appointed CEO, replacing Afzal, who transitioned to a strategic advisory role; Kapelus brought over 25 years of experience in technology operations and transformations to guide Afiniti's focus on AI-driven customer experience innovations. [18]

Leadership and Advisory Board

Afiniti hired a number of individuals from prominent political and business families, including Princess Beatrice of York, [19] Prince Harry's friend Tom Inskip [19] [20] and Winston Churchill's great grandson [21] in the UK, Wyatt Roy in Australia, [22] a nephew of Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore, [23] the son of former Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar [24] in Spain, the son of French business leader Henri de Castries [25] in France and the daughter of banker António Horta-Osório [21] in the US.

Afiniti also maintained a Senior Advisory Board, which the Telegraph described as resembling "the annual guest list of the Bilderberg Meeting". [26]

Members included political figures such as former UK Prime Minister David Cameron, [27] former French Prime Minister François Fillon, [26] former U.S. Treasury Secretary John W. Snow, [28] and former Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. [29]

It also included former CEOs from major global corporations, such as Thomson Reuters' Tom Glocer, [30] BP’s John Browne, [31] Sony’s Nobuyuki Idei, [32] Unicredit’s Federico Ghizzoni, [33] Air France's Alexandre de Juniac, [28] and Hutchison Whampoa’s Simon Murray. [28]

Services and technology

According to Afiniti, its software uses AI to improve call center efficiency by "predicting interpersonal behavior" [9] between the callers and agents. [1] VentureBeat explains that "when a customer calls into a call center, Afiniti matches their phone number — either landline or cellphone — with any information tied to it from up to 100 databases. These databases carry purchase history, income, and other demographic information." [4] [8] Data on customers is collected from the customers and from data brokers. Afiniti does not charge for the software or service itself, but instead takes a percentage of any proven revenue increases resulting from use of the software. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Medici, Andy (June 11, 2018). "Meet D.C.'s little-known artificial intelligence firm — and its plans to go public". Washington Business Journal . Retrieved November 21, 2021.(subscription required)
  2. ↑ Memon, Bilal (December 7, 2017). "Born in the US, raised in Pakistan: Man who founded two billion-dollar companies". The Express Tribune . Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  3. ↑ "History". Afiniti. Archived from the original on December 11, 2018. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Marshall, Matt (April 14, 2017). "Sales AI company Afiniti valued at $1.6 billion, files for IPO". VentureBeat . Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  5. ↑ Turner, Giles; Baigorri, Manuel (January 2014). "AI Firm Afiniti Said to Weigh IPO at About $2 Billion Value". Bloomberg News . Retrieved November 21, 2021.(subscription required)
  6. 1 2 Hooper, Troy (January 12, 2018). "Top 30 Tech Exits To Watch In 2018". Forbes . Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  7. 1 2 Roberts, Jeff John (January 10, 2017). "How Companies Use Your Social Media Data When Taking Your Call". Fortune magazine . Retrieved November 21, 2021.(subscription required)
  8. 1 2 Knutston, Ryan (January 10, 2017). "Many Call Centers Know a Surprising Amount About You". The Wall Street Journal . ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved November 21, 2021.(subscription required)
  9. 1 2 "This company founded by a Pakistani is valued at $1.6 billion". The Express Tribune . Karachi. April 16, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  10. ↑ Faseeh Mangi (October 2, 2017). "Tycoon Takes Investors Heli Skiing to Show Them Pakistan's Safe". Bloomberg News. Retrieved November 21, 2021.(subscription required)
  11. ↑ "Avaya and Afiniti Partner to Bring Unique and Proven, AI-Driven Behavioral Pairing to the Contact Center". Avaya. April 24, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  12. ↑ Rapp, Nicolas; O'Keef, Brian (January 8, 2018). "These 100 Companies Are Leading the Way in A.I." Fortune magazine. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Afiniti founder Zia Chishti 'steps down' after sexual assault allegations". Dawn . Karachi. November 19, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  14. ↑ Neate, Rupert (November 17, 2021). "David Cameron quits Afiniti role after founder accused of sexual assault". The Guardian . London. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Afiniti Names Larry Babbio as CEO". Business Wire. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  16. ↑ "Afiniti Appoints Hassan Afzal as Its Chief Executive Officer". Business Wire. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  17. ↑ "Case No. 24-12539". Kroll. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  18. ↑ "Afiniti Appoints Jerome Kapelus as Chief Executive Officer". Business Wire. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  19. 1 2 "MSN". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2025-11-15.
  20. ↑ Coke, Hope (2020-08-10). "The Duke of Sussex's childhood friend had reservations about Meghan". Tatler. Retrieved 2025-11-15.
  21. 1 2 "High Court Judgment Template" (PDF). www.5rb.com. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  22. ↑ Riley, James (2017-02-06). "What Wyatt Roy did next: Afiniti". InnovationAus.com. Retrieved 2025-11-15.
  23. ↑ Guno, Niña V. (2019-05-28). "Lee Kuan Yew's grandson Li Huanwu weds BF in South Africa". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 2025-11-15.
  24. ↑ "Una empresa de la que es consejero Aznar captó 68 millones desde el paraíso fiscal de Bermudas". LaSexta (in Spanish). 2018-11-29. Retrieved 2025-11-15.
  25. ↑ "Jérôme de Castries, une affinité pour l'aventure". www.latribune.fr (in French). 2018-03-01. Retrieved 2025-11-15.
  26. 1 2 Cook, James; Dodds, Io (2019-11-02). "Inside the mysterious world of AI firm Afiniti which boasts David Cameron and Princess Beatrice as recruits". The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 2025-11-15.
  27. ↑ Press, Europa (2019-05-31). "David Cameron ficha por Afiniti, la empresa en la que es consejero José María Aznar". www.europapress.es. Retrieved 2025-11-15.
  28. 1 2 3 "Using artificial intelligence to enhance personalization of customer relationship management in the contact center space: Afiniti's technology case study" (PDF). dspace.mit.edu. June 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  29. ↑ HewettColumnist, Jennifer (2019-07-30). "Julie Bishop joins board of global AI firm". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 2025-11-15.
  30. ↑ "COMPLAINT FOR DEFAMATION, LIBEL, FALSE LIGHT, SLANDER, BREACH OF CONTRACT, ABUSE OF PROCESS, CONSPIRACY, INTENTIONAL INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, LOSS OF CONSORTIUM". www.politico.com. Retrieved November 15, 2025.
  31. ↑ "Lord Browne of Madingley". Grafine Partners. Retrieved 2025-11-15.
  32. ↑ Hurley, James (2021-09-26). "Software company Afiniti restates 2019 accounts". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 2025-11-15.
  33. ↑ Barlaam, Riccardo; Corsico, Fabio (2018-02-25). "Afiniti e l'algoritmo da 1,3 miliardi che rende più umano il call center". Il Sole 24 ORE (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-11-15.
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