San Francisco-based IoT logistics startup Samsara has opened its first east coast headquarters in midtown Atlanta. The office already has 30 people with plans to grow to over 100 this year and 400-plus in the next three years.
“Direct feedback from our customers is a cornerstone of our development philosophy,” says CEO and co-founder Sanjit Biswas. “Being in Atlanta makes it easy to hear from our customers and provide them better support.”
Atlanta’s rich history as a transportation and operations hub, as well as its booming tech community, drew the unicorn company to the city, after a search across the coast from Boston to Miami. Biswas shares that establishing Atlanta as a home base for Samsara represents an estimated investment of $100 million into the city, adding that they did not receive any tax incentives to open the office here.
Founded in 2015 by Biswas and John Bicket, the startup currently has over 700 employees across offices in California and London and has raised a total of $230 million in venture capital, led by VCs Andreessen Howoritz and General Catalyst. Biswas and Bicket previously co-founded cloud networking company Meraki, which was acquired by Cisco Systems for $1.2 billion in 2012.
Samsara closed a $100 million round at a valuation of $3.6 billion this past December. The funding has been earmarked for expansion and product development, specifically in the areas of artificial intelligence and computer vision.
For example, they most recently released new features within their driver-facing AI dashcam that push for anti-distracted driving.
Samsara’s cloud-based software uses real-time GPS tracking, video, wireless sensors, and mobile apps to help organizations manage their fleet and improve efficiency, service quality, compliance, and safety. The company also provides plug-and-play hardware to further connect fleet operations.
Samsara services over 5,000 customers worldwide, from emerging businesses to Fortune 500 enterprises, in transportation, logistics, construction, food production, energy, and manufacturing. They plan to hire additional sales and customer support talent in Atlanta to cater to their East Coast clientele.
“A big part of our investment in the city is in people. By hiring local we are able to take advantage of the amazing talent — both technical and operational — in the Atlanta area as well as provide customers with local sales and customer support,” EVP of Sales Andy McCall tells Hypepotamus.
“We don’t underestimate the power of having a team that knows the area and is familiar with the challenges our customers face on the ground everyday — it’s more than just being in the same time zone.”
AVP of Sales Lauren Roberts made the move to the East Coast to lead the Atlanta-based sales team. Roberts shares that she’s looking for top talent, but doesn’t necessarily need to see software sales experience as long as they have ambition.
“We hear time and time again from our customers that what sets Samsara apart is the willingness of our team to go the extra mile,” Roberts tells Hypepotamus.
They currently have roles open in customer support, finance, operations, product, sales, engineering, and more. Roberts explains, “I’m looking for people who are interested in growing their career, are committed to helping us build Samsara’s presence in Atlanta, and have that drive to give it 110 percent everyday.”