Software marketplace G2 has raised USD157 million in Series D funding at a valuation of more than USD1.1 billion, bringing its total funding to USD257 million.
G2’s Series D round is led by Permira’s growth fund, which makes minority investments in tech-enabled and digital businesses, and is supported by existing investors including Accel, Emergence, and IVP. New strategic investors include HubSpot Ventures and Salesforce Ventures, who join prior strategic investor LinkedIn, as well as individual investor-entrepreneurs Auren Hoffman (LiveRamp and SafeGraph founder) and Thomas D. Lehrman (GLG founder via Teamworthy Ventures). Permira Partner Tom Eggemeier will join the G2 Board of Directors as part of the transaction.
G2 is the definitive online destination to discover, review, and manage the technology that businesses need to reach their potential. The platform is set to reach 60 million software buyers annually, with 100,000-plus software and services companies in 2,000-plus categories and over 1.3 million trusted user reviews. Nearly 60 per cent of the Forbes Cloud 100 are G2 customers, including over 2,000 software customers such as Adobe, Autodesk, HubSpot, Salesforce, and Zoom. These companies utilise G2’s Marketing Solutions to increase revenue, manage and grow their reputation, and gain valuable customer insights. In addition, nearly 1,000 companies use G2 Track to manage and optimise their annual software expenditures.
“Software spending will top USD4 trillion this year, and is growing quickly with the need for digital transformation. Customers expect reliable, trusted reviews for everything they shop for and this is increasingly true for B2B software purchases where complexity is at an all-time high and trust is low,” says G2 CEO and Co-Founder Godard Abel. “This funding will be a catalyst for G2 to expand our community and products, grow our team, and continue investing in our vision to be the place for software online.”
“During my time at Genesys, I saw first-hand how the power and utility of authentic reviews influence enterprise software buyers to make more informed buying decisions. The G2 platform serves as an objective, real-time alternative to analyst reports, and with this investment, will be well-positioned to continue to grow and support more customers around the world,” says Tom Eggemeier, Partner and Head of the Menlo Park office at Permira. “We are thrilled to be backing G2 and look forward to leveraging our extensive experience in backing and growing enterprise software and best-in-class technology platforms to further its market leading position.”
Today, G2 is the largest, most trusted destination for software, with more visitors than all other software reviews sites combined. The company added 700 paying customers for its Marketing Solutions in the past 12 months and saw a 95 percent increase in organic traffic from software buyers.
“As a longtime investor in G2, we have seen how vital the company’s marketplace is as software buyers face increasing pressure to answer the demands for digital transformation in their businesses,” says Jules Maltz, General Partner at IVP. “We’re bullish on the future for G2 and look forward to seeing the additional growth and success this fundraising round helps G2 achieve.”
“At HubSpot, we believe that delivering a great customer experience is the key to growing better. So naturally, we’re delighted to invest in G2 — a platform that’s powered by authentic reviews and dedicated to helping customers find the best solutions available in today’s crowded software market,” says Andrew Lindsay, SVP of Corporate and Business Development, HubSpot (for HubSpot Ventures).
