The Belgian firm Odoo has raised $90 million to fund product development and global expansion for its all-in-one business software, according to Tech.eu.
Odoo Enterprise offers 30 applications to help businesses of every size run nearly every aspect of their company, from accounting to manufacturing, project management, marketing, human resources, and eCommerce, to name just a few.
Their software is affordably priced and scalable to meet the changing needs of businesses as they expand. It’s now the world’s most popular business software, with over 4.5 million users worldwide. They’ve seen revenue growth of at least 50 percent for the past ten years, and now employ roughly 750 people in offices all over the world, including the US, Belgium, India, and Hong Kong.
“My goal in founding Odoo was to make a difference. I wanted to create software that powers the growth of businesses and changes the world. In order to achieve this, we’ve had to work hard, build a team and innovate at every turn. I’m incredibly proud of where Odoo is today and the passionate community we have built – and we’re just getting started,” said Founder and CEO Fabien Pinckaers.
While Pinckaers first founded the company in 2005, it shifted to its current open core business model in 2015. Along with its 30 proprietary Odoo Enterprise core apps, it also now offers access to Odoo Community, an open-source platform with over 16,000 apps created by its member community.
They raised $10 million in a Series B funding round in 2014.
“Odoo is largely profitable and grows at 60% per year with an 83% gross margin product; so, we don’t need to raise money. Our bottleneck is not the cash but the recruitment of new developers, and the development of the partner network,” an Odoo spokesperson told TechCrunch. “What’s unusual in the deal is that existing managers, instead of cashing out, purchased part of the shares using a loan with banks.”
The funding was raised through a secondary share sale, with the round led by the global growth equity investor Summit Partners, with participation from existing investor SRIW. However, the company’s executive management team also bought stock.
The spokesperson told TechCrunch that the funding will be used for an expansion that will include opening a new Mexico office in January, and an office in Antwerp in the third quarter of 2020.
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