Sales automation software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform LeadSquared has joined the unicorn club after the Bengaluru-based company raised $153 million from WestBridge Capital as a part of its Series C funding round.
The company is India's 103rd startup to be valued at $1 billion or more even as concerns mount over funding and the growing number of layoffs in the industry.
"(We will) start building in APAC and EMEA, add new offerings to our product portfolio, and fund acquisitions. To support our growth, we plan to double our headcount in the next 18 months,” LeadSquared's founder and chief executive office Nilesh Patel said on June 21. He was referring to the Asia-Pacific region and Europe, the Middle East and African countries.
The company would also use the funds to invest more for growth in its existing markets—India and North America, Patel said.
LeadSquared follows edtech company PhysicsWallah and online beauty products marketplace Purplle to become the third unicorn in June after the country saw only one company attain the coveted status in April and May.
Founded by Patel, Prashant Singh, and Sudhakar Gorti in 2011, LeadSquared offers a customer relationship management platform that lets clients capture potential leads across the web and enables them to track, manage, engage, and follow up till the transaction is closed.
LeadSquared said its platform caters to every segment in the sales journey, including marketing, call center, inside sales, and field sales. The platform also offers verifications, collections, vendor onboarding, and more.
The SaaS company claims to have more than 2,000 customers, including high-growth organisations in edtech, financial services, healthcare and marketplaces among others.
The company said it launched sales-performance analytics and a few tools last year to digitise application processing.
"Its (LeadSquared's) core SaaS metrics are unique and best-in-class in the industry. Its focus on building an easy-to-use platform that transforms sales processes through automation delivering unparalleled efficiency, has significant potential for growth in the global market," said Sumir Chadha, Co-founder and Managing Director at WestBridge Capital.
LeadSquared had raised $32 million in a funding round led by Gaja Capital in 2020 and $3 million as a part of Series A led by Stakeboat Capital in 2019.
“LeadSquared is fast emerging as a category leader in high-velocity sales execution software," said Gopal Jain, Managing Partner at Gaja Capital.
"With this round, the company has the balance sheet strength to further invest for growth in India as well as international markets, especially the US," Jain added.
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