The Portuguese unicorn Talkdesk, created by two Técnico alumni, raised $ 230 billion (about € 196 million) in a Series D investment round, which raises Talkdesk valuation to $ 10 billion (€ 8.5 billion) and places it among the most highly valued private companies in the software-as-a-service (SaaS) or enterprise software industry.
The investment round included the participation of new investors such as Whale Rock Capital Management, TI Platform Management or Alpha Square Group, as well as existing investors such as Amity Ventures, Franklin Templeton, Top Tier Capital Partners, Viking Global Investors or Willoughby Capital.
The capital will be used to drive Talkdesk to a second decade of growth and to continue expanding internationally. The company goal is to remain focused on innovating its products, enhancing the customer experience.
“We are grateful for the continued confidence in our strategy and we are increasingly determined on our unique ability to help companies deliver memorable customer experiences”, says Tiago Paiva, founder and CEO of Talkdesk, in a statement.
Since it was founded in 2011 by Tiago Paiva and Cristina Fonseca, the unicorn – company valued at over $ 1 billion – has already raised more than $ 498 million (€425 million).
For the third consecutive year, Talkdesk was added to the Forbes Cloud 100 list and ranks 17th among companies that stand out in the cloud market.
The Cloud 100 evaluation process involved ranking companies across four factors: market leadership (35%), estimated valuation (30%), operating metrics (20%), and people and culture (15%). For market leadership, the Cloud 100 enlists the help of a judging panel of 34 public cloud company CEOs who assist in evaluating and ranking their private company peers.
Currently, the Técnico spin-off is present in several international markets, namely the USA and Great Britain. In recent years Talkdesk has also expanded its activities to Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico and Southeast Asia.
