Australian technology company has secured an £85 million funding round, propelling its valuation to £1.3 billion. This significant investment will drive innovation, accelerate AI adoption, and reward long-term employees, amid a challenging fundraising environment.
In the UK, the company’s workplace operations platform is already utilised by over 25,000 businesses, including the NHS, National Grid, British Airways, and Transport for London. The Manchester office, housing the growing EMEA team, is set to expand its headcount following a successful A$34 million capital raise earlier this year.
Two senior executives inaugurated the new 9,000 sq ft office in a refurbished 19th-century bank building on Mosley Street, heralding a new phase of growth for the company in central Manchester. The funding round, spearheaded by a venture capital firm, also saw participation from existing investors.
The company’s CEO, Luke Anear, highlighted the achievements: “We have now closed this round and are excited about the opportunities it creates for us to accelerate our growth and help even more customers. It’s a tough environment to be raising in, but we’re proud of the results the business is delivering and pleased that we can continue to create regular liquidity events for early investors and long-term employees.”
Following the introduction of the company’s workplace operations platform in October 2023, which featured enhanced training, asset management, sensors, and IoT capabilities, the firm has experienced remarkable growth. The platform is now used by close to 85,000 businesses globally, with nearly 2 million users, who have extended its use across more teams.
Over the last two years, customer sign-ups have surged, and the average customer size has doubled. The company has added 100 new roles in the past six months, bringing its global workforce to over 800 employees. The ambitious goal is to reach 100 million users by 2032.
In 2023, AI-enhanced features were introduced, including mobile-first training course creation and instant inspection template generation. The potential of AI to improve the lives of frontline workers remains vast. As CEO Luke Anear stated, “We’ve only scratched the surface when it comes to transforming frontline work. Few tech companies have our direct reach to frontline workers across so many different industries, so we have both a responsibility and a massive opportunity to create significant change for these people.”
Anear continues, “We’ve built the world’s largest repository of workplace data, containing over 5 petabytes of data and billions of images. AI is the way we can make sense of that information, and if we can harness it properly, we’ll effectively be able to give frontline teams superpowers that will completely change the way they work.”
This funding round signifies a pivotal moment for the company. Partner at the leading venture capital firm, Kell Reilly, remarked, “Having tracked the company’s journey to date, now is an opportune time to join them at this inflection point. The company has all the hallmarks of tech heavyweights – a compelling vision, product, scale, and team. We’re excited to partner with another success story that’s making waves on the global stage.”
This substantial investment and the company’s continuous innovations underscore its potential to revolutionise workplace operations and solidify its position as a tech industry leader.