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Ingrid Lunden
Guest
Danish startup Pleo, a developer of expense management tools aimed at SMBs to let them issue company cards and better manage how employees spend money, has picked up a large tranche of funding to help it double down on its business at a time of strong growth.
The company has raisedPleo raised \)"> 150 million. At the time, that round in July was the largest-ever Series C for a Danish startup. This latest funding is actually an extension of that round, bringing the total for the Series C to 1.7 billion; now it is raised \)"> 180 million this year, too.) Pleo’s tools today include card issuing, invoice payments, and out of pocket expenses, integrating all of this with existing accounting packages to help money management run more smoothly. Pricing starts at a free and limited tier for the smallest customers up to five users, working up to £10 per person per month for bigger customers, as well packages designed for the largest users.
The third reason for Pleo’s raise right now? The fact that VCs — working hard to deploy massive funds — are continuing to hunt very aggressively for the best opportunities in the market. Their focus is not just to fund companies just as activity is picking up, but to back those that have demonstrated good growth during even the leaner periods.
“We were impressed by how Pleo has already redefined the way that over 20,000 companies think about managing their expenses, saving them time and lowering costs while increasing transparency,” said Michael B. Gilroy, general partner of Coatue Management, in a statement. “We are proud to partner closely with Jeppe and the rest of the team to help drive their next phase of growth – as they continue to extend across Europe and work to transform how spend management works within businesses.”
“Europe is emerging as an important technology hub in both the public and private markets, as evidenced by the increase in venture capital activity across the continent,” added Deepak Ravichandran, general partner of Alkeon Capital. “Pleo is building the leading B2B spend management platform in Europe, driven by a best-in-class user experience and rapid product innovation. We look forward to working with Jeppe and the team as the business continues to accelerate and grow.”
“In July, we recognized that the future of work must empower employees with the tools they need to be effective, productive, and successful. Pleo understands this critical shift for modern companies toward employee centricity—providing workers with a fun-to-use spend management app that automatically tracks their corporate spending and generates expense reports, paired with the powerful tools businesses need to create full visibility and management of every penny spent,” added Bain partner Keri Gohman.”With this extension to the Series C, Pleo is in an even stronger position – they’re undeniably the dominant player in small business spend management, an $80B+ opportunity in Europe alone, and will only grow more essential to businesses as the company expands into bill payments in the near future.”
The company has raised
The third reason for Pleo’s raise right now? The fact that VCs — working hard to deploy massive funds — are continuing to hunt very aggressively for the best opportunities in the market. Their focus is not just to fund companies just as activity is picking up, but to back those that have demonstrated good growth during even the leaner periods.
“We were impressed by how Pleo has already redefined the way that over 20,000 companies think about managing their expenses, saving them time and lowering costs while increasing transparency,” said Michael B. Gilroy, general partner of Coatue Management, in a statement. “We are proud to partner closely with Jeppe and the rest of the team to help drive their next phase of growth – as they continue to extend across Europe and work to transform how spend management works within businesses.”
“Europe is emerging as an important technology hub in both the public and private markets, as evidenced by the increase in venture capital activity across the continent,” added Deepak Ravichandran, general partner of Alkeon Capital. “Pleo is building the leading B2B spend management platform in Europe, driven by a best-in-class user experience and rapid product innovation. We look forward to working with Jeppe and the team as the business continues to accelerate and grow.”
“In July, we recognized that the future of work must empower employees with the tools they need to be effective, productive, and successful. Pleo understands this critical shift for modern companies toward employee centricity—providing workers with a fun-to-use spend management app that automatically tracks their corporate spending and generates expense reports, paired with the powerful tools businesses need to create full visibility and management of every penny spent,” added Bain partner Keri Gohman.”With this extension to the Series C, Pleo is in an even stronger position – they’re undeniably the dominant player in small business spend management, an $80B+ opportunity in Europe alone, and will only grow more essential to businesses as the company expands into bill payments in the near future.”