SaaS startup Icertis raises $150 million funding from Silicon Valley Bank

The company said on Monday that it would use the funds to further accelerate the adoption of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and blockchain.

Icertis’ latest funding round comes after it
raised an undisclosed sum from German enterprise software maker SAP in exchange for a minority stake in January.

Founded in 2009, Icertis provides a contract lifecycle management software that helps businesses manage their contracts. It further helps organisations ensure visibility of these contracts, while helping them maintain compliance with local rules.

“This new funding from Silicon Valley Bank is a major vote of confidence in our growth trajectory, enhancing our already strong capital position, and enabling us to lean in to capture market share and build towards the next exciting chapter in our company’s journey,” said Rajat Bahri, chief financial officer (CFO), Icertis.

In September 2021, Japan’s SoftBank Vision Fund purchased shares from Icertis’ existing investor Eight Roads in a secondary transaction that valued it around $5 billion, catapulting the company to the top league of SaaS startups in India.

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“We are thrilled to work with Icertis and support its continued growth as a market leading contract intelligence platform,” said Bob Blee, head of US Technology Corporate Banking at Silicon Valley Bank. “Contracts are the foundation of commerce, sitting at the intersection of almost all business processes. Understanding and harnessing the underlying data can drive material business impact to a wide range of enterprises.”

Icertis said its platform has been used to execute over 10 million contracts across 40 languages by clients.

The latest round also comes at a time when several late-stage startups are in talks to raise fresh capital through convertible notes amid a softening of valuations, as global macroeconomic headwinds continue to buffet global technology stocks.

ETtech

ET reported on October 12 that late-stage startups, including business-to-business ecommerce platform Udaan and online pharmacy PharmEasy, were looking to raise $150-200 million and $100 million, respectively, through convertible notes.

Even edtech major Byju’s is also looking to raise its new $500 million round through convertible notes, ET reported on October 17.

Last week, direct-to-consumer (D2C) audio products and wearables brand
Boat closed a $60-million financing through convertible preferred stock notes from existing investor Warburg Pincus and new investor Malabar Investments.

Convertible notes are a form of short-term debt that converts into equity, typically during a future financing round, or an initial public offering (IPO). It requires no valuation to be ascribed to a startup immediately.