Freshworks Inc., a Software as a Service (SaaS) provider founded in Chennai and now based in Silicon Valley, California has filed for a $100 million IPO (Initial Public Offer) in the USA. The company filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, August 27. The number of shares to be offered as well as the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been decided. Freshworks intends to list its stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “FRSH”.
Freshworks has raised $400 million at a $3.5-billion valuation and is backed by marquee Silicon Valley funds Accel and Sequoia Capital as well as New York's Tiger Global. The company said its options include a merger with a special purpose acquisition company or further capital infusion from private investors, apart from a direct listing.
Interestingly, Freshworks co-founder and CEO Girish Mathrubootham, who is a self-confessed fan of Superstar Rajinikanth, showed his adoration for the actor by code-naming the company’s IPO project as Project Superstar.
“I want to express my love and gratitude to him for being my maanaseega guru. There is no comparable English word to express what this means. It is a mentor; a role model that lives in your mind, from whom you learn a lot by watching from afar. The Superstar is a man who is loved and worshipped by millions of fans globally. He is immensely successful yet humble and down to earth. Thank you, Thalaivaa!” Mathrubootham said in the IPO filing.
The customer engagement software maker, which competes directly with industry giant Salesforce, saw its revenue jump 53% to $169 million in the six months ended June 30, while losses dropped 83% to $8.9 million. Earlier this year, Freshworks crossed $300 million in annual recurring revenue. According to information on the company’s website, more than 50,000 companies use Freshworks’ SaaS product to enable a better customer experience and employee experience.
Before founding Freshworks, which was previously known as Freshdesk, Mathrubootham was the vice president of product management at Zoho Corporation. According to him, the idea of founding Freshworks struck him after reading an article on how Zendesk’s customers were upset after it raised its prices by 60-300%. It was after this in 2010 that he went into business with his friend and colleague Shan Krishnasamy.
The company raised its first $1 million in funding from Accel in December 2011. Seven years later, it entered the unicorn club and became India’s first SaaS startup to be valued at over $1 billion after it raised $100 million from Accel and Sequoia Capital as part of its seventh funding round.