Just one look at this week’s news, acquisitions, and funding announcements – you’d realize how fast-paced the world of SaaS is. So without further ado, here’s everything that deserves your attention in the SaaS space.
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News of the week
Introducing Google Workspace and a new set of offerings to better meet your needs
The search giant has rebranded its G Suite offering for enterprises to Google Workspace which signifies its increased focus on the segment. The company also announced that this will also enable an integrated user experience along with introducing new logos for its products.
Slack is getting Instagram-like stories and push-to-talk audio calls for the pandemic era
Collaboration software Slack has boarded the stories bandwagon, as it will launch the support for the same by the end of 2020. One key difference however, is that the stories will in the form of videos, and the idea is that these will replicate the impromptu office interactions that used to happen in the pre-COVID world. It’ll also be launching a push-to-talk feature that allows for spontaneous calls with colleagues.
Okta adds new no-code workflows that use identity to trigger sales and marketing tasks
Okta, one of the leading players in the identity and access management space, has introduced no-code workflows that are triggered when users are identified. These workflows are for sales and marketing purposes by connecting to platforms like Salesforce and Marketo.
Tableau raises augmented analytics game with Salesforce Einstein Discovery integration
It was last year when Salesforce had purchased Tableau for $15.7billion, and it’s already making strides with it. The company has announced its plans to rename Einstein Analytics to Tableau CRM which will provide integrated analytics and AI experience.
Salesforce Ventures launches $100M Impact Fund to invest in cloud startups with social mission
Salesforce Ventures had launched a $50million Impact Fund three years back to focus on startups with a social mission, and now it has introduced the second fund to focus on startups that are providing cloud tech to non-profits and foundations.
Twilio set to acquire cloud customer data startup Segment for $3.2billion
Data management software Segment has been acquired by Twilio, the leading cloud communications company. As per the report, the deal is worth $3.2billion, though it hasn’t been finalized yet.
Big Blue is planning to hive off its managed infrastructure unit to a separate public company. Even though a lot of details are yet to be worked out, including the name of the new entity, the company is making this move to focus on Red Hat and hybrid cloud.
SaaS companies that got the funding this week
Former MetLife CIO’s ‘No-Code’ startup Unqork hits $2billion valuation with new fundraise
The no-code space continues to boom, and the latest startup to enjoy the limelight is Unqork. The three-year old startup has raised a massive $207million Series C round, valuing it at $2billion. The round was led by funds and accounts managed by BlackRock.
MessageBird, the ‘omnichannel platform-as-a-service,’ raises $200M Series C at $3B valuation
The Amsterdam-based MessageBird has closed a $200million funding round led by Spark Capital. The cloud communications company is also hailed as Twilio’s competitor as it offers a platform that supports voice, video, and text capabilities. The Series C round will help the company to triple the size of its global team and expand its markets.
Tipalti receives $150M at a $2B+ valuation after its accounts payable platform sees a surge in use
Accounts payable company Tipalti has received $150million funding, valuing it at $2billion. The Series E round was led by Durable Capital Partners and will help the company grow faster in this space.
Dialpad raises $100million Series E at a $1.2billion valuation
Dialpad, the company behind Dialpad and Uberconference, has gotten $100million Series E funding. Led by OMERS Growth Equity, the company is now valued at $1.2billion.
Onapsis Raises $55million in Series D funding round
The Boston-based Onapsis has received $55million Series D funding led by CDPQ and Night Dragon. The company helps organizations identify and prioritize vulnerabilities, misconfiguration, and malicious activities. The company is working on bringing support for more SaaS applications such as Oracle HCM Cloud, Oracle ERP Cloud, Workday, and more.
Chargebee raises $55M Series F round
Subscription software company Chargebee has nabbed $55million Series F funding which was led by Insight Partners. The company helps individuals, small businesses, and enterprises in automating subscriptions, billing and invoicing.
Skilljar, a startup that offers the companies the ability to build customer education experiences, has gotten a $33million Series B round. The round was led by Insight Partners, and the startup highlights that the quarter ending on July 31st was its best quarter ever with a 229 percent y-o-y increase in new bookings.
Must reads
Nextcloud 20: one private cloud to rule them all
Can superior design pick up the slack at Slack?
Freemium: playing the long game
Listen to
Mohan Lakhamraju, Founder, Great Learning on building $100million ARR EdTech business in India
With EdTech seeing a huge boost amid the ongoing crisis, this is a timely episode where Mohan Lakhamraju, founder of Great Learning, a leading online skill-based learning platform in India, shares his insights. The podcast also delves into his journey and how does the future of education look like.
How to rapidly scale growth with Sean Ellis
Sean Ellis, the author of Hacking Growth, has a storied history of helping companies achieve growth and scale, including the likes of Dropbox and LogMeIn. He shares how companies can focus on growth, how to create a culture of experimentation, and more.
A masterclass in bootstrapping, learning and staying happy with Kumar Vembu
Kumar Vembu is the founder of GoFrugal, a company that offers POS systems to restaurants. In this episode, he shares his learnings of being one of the early employees at Zoho, and how he spots talent, including Girish Mathrubootham, the founder of Freshworks. He also discusses why he bootstrapped Go Frugal.
Watch
SaaS marketing 101 (3 key principles to add to your SaaS marketing strategy in 2020)
In this video, host TK Kader shares three principles that can help your SaaS marketing strategy. And to find these tips, he has gone back to the old-school marketing books to highlight that while the way you reach to consumers might have changed, the way to stand out from the competition comes down to human psychology only.
