Customer analytics startup MoEngage said on July 31 that it has raised $32.5 million in a funding round led by private equity firm Multiples, continuing investor demand for software startups that have seen rapid growth, large funding rounds and aggressive valuations.
Existing investors Eight Roads Ventures, F-Prime Capital and Matrix Partners also participated while Exfinity Venture Partners sold its stake entirely in the round.
Founded in 2014, MoEngage helps companies measure customer engagement and analyse metrics in order to improve it, which may help companies formulate their marketing and data strategy. Like most software-as-a-service companies, it works on a subscription model, where companies pay a recurring fee for their services.
Its customers include Future Retail, Oyo Rooms, BigBasket, Indonesian e-commerce firm Tokopedia and crypto exchange CoinDCX among others
“Over the last 12 months, we have seen rapid global adoption of insights-led customer engagement. Our customer base and recurring revenue have doubled in the last 12 months and our business growth in the U.S. and Europe has tripled in the first half of 2021 as compared to the second half of 2020. This funding will help us further accelerate our global growth and product innovation,” said Raviteja Dodda, co-founder and CEO, MoEngage. The company did not disclose its valuation.
In this round, MoEngage also bought back employee stock options (ESOPs) worth $1.5 million from early employees, giving some of them a financial windfall.
The startup opened offices in Germany, Vietnam and the UK over the past year, with planned offices in Boston and New York City later this year.
“In a digital-first world, omnichannel customer engagement is critical for customer-facing brands. We’re excited to partner with Ravi and team as MoEngage empowers global enterprises to be more insights-driven, while crafting personalized engagement at scale,” said Manish Gaur, Managing Director and Head - Enterprise Technology at Multiples
The deal also marks continued investor interest in SaaS startups, one of the hottest spaces over the past year. India has 10 SaaS unicorns this year- firms valued at over a billion dollars, with half of them created in the last nine months.
Moneycontrol also reported on July 14 that PE firms such as Multiples are increasing their bets on tech startups, compared to the traditional and offline industries that private equity typically invests in. This shift has been led by some startups being able to show signs of becoming profitable soon, a slew of startups expected to list on stock exchanges this year, and PE funds increasing their risk appetite.
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