SoftBank invests in SaaS firm Whatfix, valuation jumps 4 times to $600m

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Software firm Whatfix said on June 8 that it has raised $90 million in a funding round led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2, continuing the Japanese investor’s recent blistering dealmaking run in Indian startups.

Existing backers Eight Roads Ventures, Sequoia Capital India, Dragoneer Investment Group, F-Prime Capital and Cisco Investments also invested in the Series D round. Whatfix did not disclose the valuation but a person close to the matter pegged it at $600 million. Whatfix was last valued at $150 million when it raised $32 million in February 2020 led by Sequoia.

Founded by Vara Kumar Namburu and Khadim Batti in 2013, Whatfix makes software adoption easier for companies. Its products involve onboarding, performance support, change management and training. Its customers include beer-maker Heineken, online fashion retailer Myntra and online retailer Takealot.

“Enterprises spend billions on applications across multiple functions and yet employee adoption is low. Quick adoption ensures payback on software investments. Whatfix’s solutions will be a key driver for enterprises to achieve this goal, which is reflected in their growth,” said Sumer Juneja, Partner and India Head, SoftBank Investment Advisers.

Whatfix has also opened offices in the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia, and now has over 500 employees globally.

“Whatfix is proud to offer a unified digital adoption experience enabling organizations to extract the full value from their software tools while also empowering employees, customers, and businesses...we plan to expand our offerings globally and continue to provide excellent customer service to businesses who look to us to guide them through their digital transformation initiatives,” co-founder and CEO Batti said.

“Whatfix is a great product! Whatfix has helped us in fully engaging with our customers, right from their first login. This allows us to save significantly on operations & services. With decreased customer queries and increased NPS, Whatfix is now a cornerstone of our engagement and retention strategy.” said Sameer Chouksey,Product Head, Corporate Internet Banking, ICICI Bank.

SoftBank has committed over a billion dollars in India this year alone, with investments in food delivery firm Swiggy, social commerce firm Meesho, banking software firm Zeta and now Whatfix. It is also in talks to back lending e-commerce firm OfBusiness at a $1.5 billion valuation, Moneycontrol exclusively reported on June 2.

The Masayoshi Son-led firm’s return to aggressive dealmaking in India are also led by successful public listings of DoorDash and Coupang in the US and South Korea respectively, which yielded the firm record profits.

SoftBank’s investment in Whatfix also signals continued interest for software-as-a-service startups at aggressive valuations, driven by rapid growth even as these companies mature.