In early October, DualEntry, an AI enterprise resource planning (ERP) startup, announced a $90 million Series A round led by Lightspeed and Khosla Ventures, valuing the one-year-old business at $415 million. The company seeks to replace legacy software like Oracle NetSuite with its offering that can automate routine tasks and provide predictive insights. The massive funding round from top-tier VCs signaled that the startup is likely experiencing phenomenal revenue growth. However, one VC who declined to invest told TechCrunch that DualEntry's annual recurring revenue (ARR) was just around $400,000 when he reviewed the deal in August. DualEntry's co-founder, Santiago Nestares, denies that number. When asked about revenue when the deal closed, Nestares said it was 'considerably higher than that.' This approach involves deploying massive funding into one startup in a competitive category, aiming to overwhelm rivals by granting the chosen company a bank-account advantage so significant that it creates the appearance of market dominance....
The Swedish investor will purchase a 23.2% stake from Douzone's chairman, Young-woo Kim, and a further 14.4% from affiliates of Shinhan Financial Group. The deal, executed through EQT's BPEA Private Equity Fund IX, will make the fund between 5% and 10% invested upon completion. Founded in 1991, Douzone Bizon provides enterprise resource planning and business management software for small and mid-sized companies, with a growing suite of cloud-based accounting, tax, and compliance tools. Subscribe to our Newsletter to increase your edge. Don't worry about the news anymore, through our newsletter you'll receive weekly access to what is happening. Join 120,000 other PE professionals today....
Headquartered in Munich, Tecvia provides an integrated platform that digitises the full value chain of driving schools, from enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and third-party interfaces to advanced teaching software and digital learning media. Its solutions are used across Europe to prepare students for theoretical and practical driving tests. Unigestion invested in Tecvia in 2023 through its direct investment programmes, including Unigestion Direct III. The firm backed the business for its strong market position, innovative technology, and social relevance, helping it achieve substantial growth in both revenue and EBITDA. 'It has been a privilege to partner with Tecvia and its management team,' said Philipp Scheier, Partner at Unigestion Private Equity, who led the deal. 'Delivering such a strong exit in today's challenging environment underscores the effectiveness of our investment strategy of backing market leaders in theme-driven sectors.' Harris Computer, which acquires and develops specialised software firms globally, said Tecvia aligns with its focus on sustainable, mission-critical technology. 'With Tecvia, we are entering an exciting new vertical while deepening our footprint in core European markets,' said Guido Moritz, Portfolio Leader at Harris International....
The past couple of years have offered plenty of examples of those types of companies. According to Crunchbase data, a sizable cohort of companies has progressed from Series A to Series C between 2023 and this year. Several have managed to scale all three stages in less than 12 months. The two first met when Glasgow was working at Invoice2go, a startup that was acquired by fintech giant Bill in July 2021 for $625 million. Locke was also an investor in Invoice2go, where Glasgow was a vice president of business development and partnerships before the acquisition. Glasgow eventually left Bill, which he joined after the buyout, to start Campfire with the goal of building an AI-native ERP, or enterprise resource planning software, for 'modern' finance and accounting teams at mid-sized and enterprise companies. 'We went our first two years since YC with just $3.5 million in funding,' Glasgow said in an interview. 'And we still had about half of it. But then we felt an intense market pull, so we raised a Series A.'...
