More SaaS companies are aiming to go public – that’s the theme that’s emerging if you see this week’s pattern. Of course, the already public companies in the space are announcing impressive results. And then there are massive funding rounds as well, perhaps to have this flywheel going. All this and more in the latest SaaS weekly roundup.
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News of the week
Salesforce rival Freshworks hires banks for IPO – sources
Among the biggest news this week is Freshworks filing for an IPO in the US. As per the report, the company – which started as a helpdesk software, and today has a CRM and ITSM offering too – could raise $100million at a $10billion valuation. Currently, Freshworks has over 50,000 customers (companies that use its software) and had $168.9million in revenue in the first half of 2021.
Related read: Decoding IPO-bound Freshworks in 5 charts
UiPath rival Automation Anywhere plans IPO as soon as this year
Earlier this year, UiPath IPOed at a stunning valuation of $29billion. Now its rival Automation Anywhere is slated to go public in 2022. The Robotic Process Automation company was last valued at $6.8billion in 2019.
Andreessen and General Catalyst-backed Samsara files confidentially for IPO
Cloud-based fleet management company Samsara has also filed to go public. The company is valued at $5.4billion based on its $400million fund infusion last year.
Square to launch a new paid subscription, Invoices Plus
The payment gateway software has been in news for a variety of reasons. The latest is for a new service dubbed Invoices Plus, a subscription service for its invoicing software with some advanced features. While Square hasn’t made any announcement publicly, several individual sellers have access to it.
Earnings corner
Zoom shares plummet amid slowing growth, disappointing guidance
Zoom boom was expected to be slowed down once the world starts going back to normal, and that’s what’s happening it seems. While the video conferencing software managed to beat analyst expectations, its growth is slowing down. That said, its revenue in Q2 was $1.02billion versus $990million expected… which is significant as it crossed the billion-dollar mark for quarterly sales for the first time.
Crowdstrike beats Q2 estimates with strong subscription growth
Cybersecurity company Cloudstrike reported revenue of $337.7million, which was up 70 percent year-on-year. It also announced the addition of 1,660 new customers, taking its total subscription customers to 13,080. In the third quarter, its expecting revenue between $358 – and $365.3million.
Okta raises FY 2022 outlook after strong Q2
Identity and access management software Okta reported revenue of $316million – much higher than analysts’ expectation of $296.52million revenue. The numbers also include Okta’s acquisition of Auth0. Based on its strong growth, Okta has raised the expectations for the entire fiscal 2022 with revenue in the range of $1.243 – and $1.250billion, which will signify ~50 percent growth y-o-y.
Asana beats expectations for Q2, reports record revenue
Project management software Asana Q2 financial results were also impressive. It reported $89.5million revenue, which has grown by 72 percent versus the same period last year. For the full-year fiscal 2022, it’s expecting revenues of $357- and $359million.
Saas companies that got the funding this week
Enterprise software company Databricks now worth $38 billion, up $10 billion since February
Databricks announced a mega fundraise of $1.6billion that values it at an astounding $38billion. The Series H round was led by Morgan Stanley. The company is on track to cross $1billion in revenue this year.
SEO optimization platform Botify lands $55million
Botify, a startup that offers tools for search engine optimization, has nabbed $55million in Series C funding. Led by InfraVia Growth, it’ll help Botify to expand globally, and develop its partner ecosystem.
PayEm, the global spend and procurement platform, emerges from stealth with $27million in funding
PayEm has revealed it has raised $27million in funding for its spend and procurement platform, which integrates with financial systems and ERPs. Worth noting that the startup was working in stealth has started generating revenue already. The $27million funding comprises $7million seed funding and a $20million Series A round led by Gilot+.
Must reads
Shopify eases talent pinch as app developers map way to millions
Pairing content & product to create a masterful content journey (+ 4 awesome examples)
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Paving new (Ui)Paths: the story behind Europe’s first decacorn
RPA pioneer UiPath has had a fascinating journey since its inception in 2003, and culminating in its IPO earlier this year. Listen to this podcast, as its CEO and co-founder Daniel Dines share how they hyperscaled the company, how they aimed for global domination, and more.
Top reasons why your SaaS startup needs people analytics today with Ian Cook
Most people consider HR functions to be enough in a company, but as this podcast suggests people analytics is an important aspect. Visier’s VP and Head of workforce solutions Ian Cook discusses what exactly is people analytics, what all does it track, and how to track it, among other things. He also talks about Visier, which became a unicorn in July this year.
A conversation with Andy Zambito, Chief Sales Officer at Creatio
There’s a little doubt that low-code and no-code tools make creating things easier. Yet, it’s interesting to see how different software are distinguishing themselves. In this episode, Creatio’s Chief Sales Officer Andy Zambito talks about they’re offering a fully customizable CRM solution.
Watch
Profitable niche SaaS products of 2021 (Micro SaaS business ideas)
We’ve been highlighting how micro SaaS businesses will be the theme of 2021, and if you want to know more about them, then watch this video. Host TK Kader shares three principles that can help you build a profitable niche SaaS business.
