The past week seemed like a funding blitzkrieg for the SaaS industry. We saw several companies raising significant investments to grow faster. All that and more in the latest edition of the SaaS weekly roundup.
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News of the week
Plaid buys Cognito as it moves beyond merely connecting accounts
Last year, Plaid was being acquired by Visa. While the deal was called off due to regulatory issues, the API tool that connects to people’s bank accounts is showing how it’s charting its future path. It has announced the acquisition of Cognito, which offers verification services. The deal is pegged at $252million as a mix of cash and stock.
SaaS companies that got the funding this week
Remote work and cloud adoption lands 1Password with $620M Series C, now valued at $6.8B
If you think only new-age companies are raising big bucks, then you couldn’t be more wrong. 1Password – a leading player in the password manager space – has gotten $620million Series C funding. Led by Iconiq Growth, the round values the company at $6.8billion. With the amount, the company will be doubling down on hiring, building its Events API, and looking for acquisitions.
6Sense reaches $5.2billion value with SoftBank joining round
6Sense is a software that helps companies with sales and marketing. It has received a $200million investment that more than doubles its valuation to $5.2billion. Co-led by Blue Owl and MSD Partners, the company will be spending the money on hiring and expanding to more geographies.
Lattice raises $175M at a $3B valuation for its people management platform
Employee performance management software Lattice has trebled its valuation to $3billion with its latest fundraise of $175million. The Series F investment values the startup at $3billion and was led by Thrive Capital, Elad Gil, Tiger Global, and Dragoneer.
Ironclad reaches $3.2billion valuation in race to build software for business contracts
Contract lifecycle management software Ironclad has closed a $150million Series E funding round. Led by Franklin Templeton, the startup is now valued at $3.2billion.
Spendesk valued at $1.5billion after latest funding round
Expense management software Spendesk has raised $114million in funding just six months after raising the same amount. Its valuation has now increased to $1.5billion, and it’ll be utlizing the investment towards hiring. The round was led by Tiger Global with existing investors also participating.
Women-led Spekit raises $45million to help remote teams train employees
Digital Adoption Platform software Spekit has closed Series B investment worth $35million. Its USP is that it creates custom turnkey guides for its clients so that they can train their employees easily. The startup will be using the money for R&D, and building out its data science team.
Contact centre software startup SaaS Labs raises $42million to launch innovative products
Soon after raising $18million in funding in November, SaaS Labs – makers of several SaaS offerings – has closed a $42million Series B investment. Led by Sequoia Capital India, the startup will be utilizing the investment for launching more products, and acquiring companies too. Currently, it has three products on offer – Justcall, CallRoot, and Helpwise. It also announced the acquisition of two European startups – CallPage and Atolia.
Related read: Interview with Sandeep Gaur, International Business Manager at JustCall
South Korean HR automation platform flex raises $32M Series B at a $287M valuation
It’s evident that the SaaS movement is taking over the world. That’s why it’s not really surprising to see South Korea’s HR platform flex managing to pique investor interest. It has nabbed a $32million Series B round. Led by Greenoaks, flex is now valued at $287million.
Must reads
How Rocketlane promises to revolutionize SaaS onboarding
The new user journey: follow your users to understand how to excel at go-to-market
Listen to
A founder’s journey from engineer to CEO of Introhive – with Jody Glidden
Introhive helps companies in improving their sales by offering big data analysis along with the relationship graph. In this podcast, its CEO Jody Glidden shares his journey, how he got the idea for Introhive, and what sets it apart.
From B2C to billions: how Vimeo executed a B2B pivot that redefined their future with Vimeo CEO Anjali Sud
Vimeo has managed one of the most impressive pivots in recent times… from having a B2C focus to becoming enterprise-oriented. In this podcast, its CEO Anjali Sud shares her learnings of taking the company public and how it’s taking bets on the future.
How Platform.sh launched to the US, a step-by-step-guide
Expanding to the US market – which is also the biggest opportunity for most companies – is said to be quite tough. In this podcast, Platform.sh’s co-founder and CEO Fred Plais shares why the company moved to the US and how they manage to find the product-market fit.
Watch
He built India’s fastest-growing SaaS startup – Rashid Khan (Co-founder & CPO, yellow.ai)
Yellow.ai is a conversational software that helps companies seamlessly engage with their customers. It has become a leading player in the space in a short span of time. In this podcast-cum-video, Yellow.ai’s co-founder and Chief Product Officer Rashid Khan shares his journey, how they built the company, how they found the product-market fit, and more.
