Even as the crowded call center—BPO market in India looks to consolidate, Bangalore based 24/7 Customer.com has mopped up $22 million from Sequoia Capital in its first external funding. The money will be used primarily for acquisition.

“We are quite seriously considering the acquisition route for inorganic growth. For this we need money and hence we were able to raise it. About $15 to 20 million would be needed for acquisition, while the rest will be used for the proposed expansion plans,” says P.V. Kannan, Founder and CEO of 24/7 Customer.

The two founders—P.V. Kannan and Sudhakar Kosaraju held 84% of the equity, the rest being held by employees. With Sequoia’s funding, they have diluted stake by 17%.

Sequoia comes in with its legacy of being the early stage investors in Cisco and Flextronics. With this Michael Moritz of Sequoia Capital joined the 24/7 board. Moritz also serves as a director of several leading U.S. corporations including Flextronics and Google.

“I’ve been a firm believer in outsourcing since the days of our investment in outsourced manufacturer Flextronics,” said Michael Moritz, a general partner at Sequoia Capital.

According to published reports, 24/7 Customer recently lost an $11 million bid for Bangalore, India-based outsourcing company FirstRing. Now interested in beefing up its acquisition-making arsenal, 24/7 Customer decided it was time to team with “a leading venture capitalist that understands what it takes to build a long-term, successful business,” Kosaraju comments.

Co-founder Sudhakar Kosaraju says 24/7 Customer is interested in pursuing an IPO, rather than setting itself up for a possible acquisition.