LumApps has raised a $70 million round of venture capital as the Paris-based startup seeks to bring more AI and machine learning capabilities to its workplace collaboration platform.
The company’s Social Intranet service is deployed internally by companies with the goal of connecting employees so they can share information and communicate across all departments. Social Intranet integrates with tools such as Google’s G Suite and Microsoft’s Office 365 to allow employees to work simultaneously on writing, scheduling, or planning projects either in the office or remotely on any device.
“It’s crucial for companies today to connect and engage all of their employees, and that can only happen when they have a way to centralize all communications, workflows, and applications,” said Sébastien Ricard, CEO of LumApps, in a statement.
Workplace collaboration has become a hot topic in recent years as companies find themselves awash in data and more connected than ever, yet unable to truly leverage it or work efficiently across teams. Slack has made one of the biggest splashes in this area with its IPO last year. But companies tackling this problem from other angles include Monday.com, which raised $50 million in 2018; Coda, which officially launched last year; and Front, which focuses on team-based email collaboration.
LumApps creates a kind of internal Facebook experience for employees, letting them follow coworkers, giving them a personalized newsfeed of company information, and allowing them to join projects or communities around areas of interest.
The latest round was led by Goldman Sachs Growth, but also included money from previous investors, including Bpifrance, Idinvest Partners, Iris Capital, and Famille C. LumApps has now raised a total of $100 million.
LumApps intends to use the new funding for “R&D investment with a particular focus on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning,” developing new product integrations, expanding sales and marketing into new territories such as Asia Pacific, and even targeting potential acquisitions.
The company said it has doubled revenue over the previous year and grown to more than 180 employees in seven offices, including Paris, London, New York, San Francisco, and Tokyo. It’s planning to hire another 150 employees in 2020.
Author: Chris O’Brien.
Source: Venturebeat
