**Coimbatore AI Start-up Awards ₹14 Crore Bonus to Employees: Founder Explains Motivation**
Saravanakumar, the founder of the business-to-business software solutions (SaaS) AI start-up Kovai.co, has awarded a remarkable bonus of ₹14 crore to 140 employees, as reported. When asked about the reasoning behind this generous gesture, he simply stated, “Why do people work in startups? They hope to become rich.”
In an interview, the 48-year-old entrepreneur elaborated on the motivation for the bonus, saying, “In most startups, employees receive shares that are merely theoretical.” He emphasized that the substantial bonus was a commitment he made to his team, recalling, “Three years ago, I promised that if they remained with us, they would receive a bonus equivalent to six months’ salary in January 2025.” He has now fulfilled that promise.
Founded in 2011 and named after his hometown of Coimbatore, Kovai.co is a bootstrapped B2B SaaS start-up. Its clientele includes prominent organizations such as the BBC, Boeing, and Shell. Kovai.co offers three main solutions: Document360, which creates and updates help pages for organizations; Biztalk 360, which integrates backend applications like Salesforce and SAP; and Turbo 360, which reduces cloud costs by up to 30%.
Reflecting on his journey, Saravanakumar shared that he spent a decade as an IT worker before moving to London 25 years ago. Recognizing a market gap, he established Kovai.co. With an annual revenue of $15 million, the company is valued at approximately $100 million. Following the fulfillment of his promise to employees, Saravanakumar aims to elevate the start-up to a $100 million revenue unicorn.