Revenue Intelligence vendor Gong closed on a $200 million Series D, raising its valuation to $2.2 billion. The firm indicated that it didn’t need the funds as it is still operating with its Series B funds from February 2019 ($40 million). The $65 million Series C from December is also available, providing the firm with over $265 million in cash for growth and potential acquisitions. Total funding reached $334 million.
“We weren’t looking to raise another round, but a lot of funds were eager to invest in us,” said Gong CEO Amit Bendov, contending that it is better to raise funds when they are available than when they are needed.
“It gives us the ability to buy companies, make strategic investment, accelerate plans, and it also, especially since we cater to large enterprise customers, gives them confidence that this company is here to stay,” he said.
The additional funds will help the firm “fulfill strong market demand for its Revenue Intelligence Platform, reinforce its market leadership, and invest in its product, engineering, and go-to-market teams.”
While an IPO is in the plans, Bendov sees it two to three years out when revenue hits a few hundred million dollars.
Potential areas of acquisition include analytics, AI, communications, and other customer-facing technologies.
“Gong is building something that is bigger than CRM. Rather than rely on people to type in information, Gong automatically captures text, Zoom calls, etc., and improves sales forecasting, product, and market strategy, with zero effort. Ultimately, we are creating a big system. The product is successful today, but still, more is needed.”
Gong CEO Amit Bendov
In 2021, Gong plans to expand globally. It has 350 employees with plans to add “hundreds” more over the next year and at least 100 before the end of 2020. They are looking to expand across finance, human resources, sales, marketing, and IT. Most of their positions are in the Bay Area, with offices in Atlanta, New York, and Denver.
“A lot of our San Francisco employees wanted to move to Atlanta after we opened our hub there [in March], said Bendov. “It’s difficult to work from home in San Francisco, where you have five roommates, and you need to do a Zoom call.”
Coatue led the Series D round, with participation from Index Ventures, Thrive Capital, and Salesforce Ventures. Previous investors NextWorld Capital, Battery Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital, and Wing Venture Capital also participated.
Part II of this blog delves further into Gong’s product offering and how they and competitor Chorus have navigated COVID.