Podium
On November 15, communication and payments platform Podium announced it had raised $201 million in Series D funding led by YC Continuity, bringing Lehi, Utah-based Podium’s valuation to more than $3 billion. YC Continuity is the growth and investment fund of Y Combinator, the US technology startup accelerator that has been used to launch 3,000 companies, including food delivery services provider DoorDash, gaming video platform Twitch, and online discussion site Reddit.
“We see this as a watershed moment for local businesses all over the world, especially as the world opens up again and local businesses are tasked with meeting the changing preferences of consumers who have welcomed digital-first interactions through the pandemic,” said Eric Rea, co-founder and CEO of Podium. “Our goal is to help communities get back on their feet and to help local businesses participate in a meaningful way in the digital evolution happening at the local level.”
The new funding will support Podium’s stated mission to help local small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) throughout the world in transitioning their operations from analog to digital.
Ometria
Customer data and marketing platform Ometria announced on November 12 that it had completed a $40 million Series C funding round led by Paris-based growth investment firm InfraVia Capital, bringing Ometria’s total funding to more than $75 million.
The new infusion of capital aims to triple the size of the Ometria product and engineering team to further accelerate development of the Ometria Co-Marketer, the company’s software solution of proprietary AI algorithms to help generate customer relationship management (CRM)-related revenue.
“Retail marketers have been promised personalization by almost every marketing technology vendor and yet our inboxes, as consumers, rarely reflect that promise,” said Ivan Mazour, CEO and founder of London-based Ometria. “The cause of this customer experience gap lies in their tech stack: namely, a chasm between where customer data sits and where marketers create and send marketing messages. The Ometria platform is built to close this gap,” Mazour added.
Pendo
On November 11, cloud-based software as a service (SaaS) company Pendo announced a secondary investment worth $110 million by Thoma Bravo, one of the world’s largest software-focused private equity firms. The investment came after Pendo employees and early-stage investors sold their shares of North Carolina-based Pendo, cashing in on Pendo’s most recent valuation of $2.6 billion.
“Thoma Bravo is a world-class investor with tremendous experience and insight in our sector, and we are so excited to partner with them on the next phase of our growth journey,” said Todd Olson, CEO and co-founder of Pendo. Founded in 2013, Pendo develops software that offers analytics and guidance to help companies build digital products.
The latest round of investment from Thoma Bravo comes just six days after it acquired software company QAD for approximately $2 billion in cash, adding to Thoma Bravo’s extensive portfolio of more than 40 companies that collectively generate annual revenue exceeding $16 billion.
ControlUp
ControlUp, the Israeli-based software developer of tools for IT professionals, announced on November 10 the completion of a $100 million funding round, co-led by high-growth-investment company K1 and international venture capital firm JVP. This new investment aims to help drive innovation and partnerships in enterprise IT teams to allow flexible and remote work arrangements for digital employees.
“This injection of capital will accelerate our ability to help more enterprises open the door to the limitless possibilities of a simpler, more reliable work-from-anywhere experience,” said Asaf Ganot, CEO and co-founder of ControlUp. “We give IT real-time visibility into system status, with the ability to resolve help desk calls faster, and even handle potential system issues before they happen. All this translates to fewer headaches, lower costs, higher productivity, and happier people.” The new generation of IT tools leverages advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to track real-time system performance and identify potential problems before they occur, paving the way for more efficient management and greater cost savings.
Author Information
Alex is responsible for writing about trends and changes that are impacting the customer experience market. He had served as Principal Editor at Village Intelligence, a Los Angeles-based consultancy on technology impacting healthcare and healthcare-related industries. Alex was also Associate Director for Content Management at Omdia and Informa Tech, where he produced white papers, executive summaries, market insights, blogs, and other key content assets. His areas of coverage spanned the sectors grouped under the technology vertical, including semiconductors, smart technologies, enterprise & IT, media, displays, mobile, power, healthcare, China research, industrial and IoT, automotive, and transformative technologies.
At IHS Markit, he was Managing Editor of the company’s flagship IHS Quarterly, covering aerospace & defense, economics & country risk, chemicals, oil & gas, and other IHS verticals. He was Principal Editor of analyst output at iSuppli Corp. and Managing Editor of Market Watch, a fortnightly newsletter highlighting significant analyst report findings for pitching to the media. He started his career in writing as an Editor-Reporter for The Associated Press.
