Product management software startup Pendo has announced a $50 million Series D funding round led by growth-stage fund Sapphire Ventures, with participation from new investors Geodesic Capital and FirstMark Capital and existing investors Battery Ventures, Spark Capital, Meritech Capital and Contour Venture Partners. This brings their total capital raised to $106 million, making it one of the most-funded startups in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park.
This substantial capital infusion will allow Pendo to expand throughout Europe and Asia, expand sales, marketing, and research and development, and continue hiring in its four offices, particularly its Raleigh, NC headquarters.
Pendo’s cloud-based platform helps product teams onboard users, collect and understand user feedback, analyze data on product usage, and announce new product features, all without additional development. Since its founding five years ago, Pendo has become the category leader in digital product management software, with over 600 customers including Zendesk, LexisNexis, Coupa and more.
The company was tracking at a 400 percent revenue growth year over year, co-founder and CEO Todd Olson told Hypepotamus this past January. According to the most recent statement, they have seen a three-year compound annual growth rate of 289 percent, which they say compares to the pre-IPO performance of Salesforce, Workday and Hubspot.
A company spokesperson told Hypepotamus they would “ideally” consider an IPO down the line, though it isn’t impending. Right now, they’re highly growth-focused.
“We’ve established a solid presence in the B2B SaaS market by focusing on what product teams need to deliver digital products that delight users,” said Olson in a statement. “As Pendo has evolved, we’ve recognized that virtually every company is now in the software business.”
Olson has talked to Hypepotamus about his plans to expand beyond the SaaS industry and into other verticals where product management and user experience is top of mind.
“We’re talking with large retail players and financial institutions and insurance companies that are starting to see more broad market applicability for what we do. To me that’s incredibly exciting,” he said earlier this year.
Their new investment partners will help them work towards these goals. Lead investor Sapphire Ventures’ portfolio companies include the now-public DocuSign, MuleSoft, Alteryx and Nutanix; while Geodesic Capital has helped multiple startups expand into Asia, one of the target regions for Pendo.
Pendo currently employs 227 people and plans to hit 250 by end of year. They have offices in Raleigh, New York, San Francisco and Israel.
Photos by f8 Photo Studios
