Whatfix appoints co-founder Vara Kumar as CEO days after fellow co-founder Khadim Batti’s passing

SaaS firm Whatfix has appointed co-founder Vara Kumar as its new CEO with immediate effect, seven days after the death of co-founder and CEO Khadim Batti.

Kumar has been with the company since he and Batti founded it in 2014, serving as the architect of its product and research strategy through its growth from an early-stage startup into an enterprise software company selling to Fortune 500 customers.

"Khadim was a visionary leader, a partner, and a dear friend. Over the past twelve years, we built Whatfix on a shared conviction that technology should empower people, not stand in their way," said Vara Kumar.

He said he and the executive leadership team remained committed to that vision, to supporting the company's global customers and partners, and to "building an enduring enterprise anchored in strong fundamentals".

The company said it continues to operate across all regions under the unified leadership of Kumar and the executive team, supported by the board.

Whatfix builds what the industry calls a digital adoption platform. Its software sits on top of other enterprise applications, guiding employees through them with prompts and walkthroughs at the moment they get stuck, and showing employers where people are struggling.

The company describes its current platform as AI-native, combining digital adoption, analytics, simulation training and what it calls intelligent agents. Its underlying technology, branded ScreenSense, is designed to read a user's context and intent to offer guidance in real time.

Alongside the core platform, it sells Mirror, which replicates applications for hands-on training and AI-powered roleplaying, and a product analytics tool.

Whatfix claims it serves 600 enterprises globally, including more than 80 Fortune 500 companies, including Shell, Schneider Electric, Mercedes-Benz, Heineken, UPS Supply Chain Solutions, Experian and Old Mutual.

It operates across North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Australia.

Its investors include Warburg Pincus, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Dragoneer, Peak XV Partners, Eight Roads and Cisco Investments. The company raised $125 million in a Series E round in September 2024, led by Warburg Pincus with SoftBank participating, at a valuation close to $900 million.