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Odoo S.A. announces a €500 million transaction

AXA

Odoo S.A. announces a €500 million transaction, increasing the Belgian Unicorn’s valuation to €5 billion.

Press release, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium – November, 20, 2024

Odoo S.A., a leading provider of integrated business software, today announced a €500 million investment led by CapitalG and Sequoia Capital, with participation from BlackRock, Mubadala, HarbourVest Partners, AVP, and Alkeon. This secondary capital transaction reflects strong confidence in the company’s vision and impact. As part of the transaction, existing investors Summit Partners, Noshaq, and Wallonie Entreprendre are selling a portion of their shares; Summit will remain Odoo’s largest institutional shareholder.

This major transaction underscores Odoo’s leadership position in the SMB software ecosystem and strong financial profile. It also highlights the company’s continued momentum in reshaping the business software landscape with innovative, accessible solutions for companies worldwide.

In short :

  • Odoo has consistently grown at 40% per year and expects to reach €1 billion in
    annual recurring revenue (ARR) by 2027.
  • The company has over 13 million users and adds 7,000 new clients each month.
  • This €500 million investment marks the latest round of third-party investment,
    underscoring sustained investor confidence in the company’s growth trajectory.
    The new group of investors will continue to facilitate new opportunities in R&D,
    S&M and global expansion.
  • With this investment round, Odoo’s valuation has risen to €5 billion, reflecting the
    company’s rapid profitable growth and market leadership, even amid a challenging
    economic landscape.

Since its founding in April 2002, Odoo S.A. has been dedicated to developing and continuously enhancing a comprehensive suite of management software applications for small and mid-sized businesses. Today, with over 13 million users and currently adding more than 7,000 new clients each month, Odoo has built a strong presence in the industry. Known for its intuitive and user-friendly design, Odoo empowers companies to focus on what matters most: improving customer satisfaction, driving innovation, optimizing business processes, and scaling operations efficiently.

Odoo S.A. has achieved sustained annual growth of 40% and is projected to exceed €650 million in ARR within the next 12 months, with a target of reaching €1 billion in ARR by 2027. The company has strengthened its global presence by establishing 15 subsidiaries and building a network of 7,500 partners worldwide. With this latest investment, Odoo S.A.s valuation has reached €5 billion.

“Fabien and his team have built a one-of-a-kind business from their ambitious vision for a unified suite of tightly integrated business apps“, said Alex Nichols, partner at CapitalG, the independent growth firm of Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company. “Odoo’s powerful and easy-to-use suite of apps has won over customers across more than 100 countries and virtually every industry, as well as companies with anywhere from one to thousands of employees. The team’s two decades of dedication and longterm thinking has fostered a robust community of partners, contributors, and users that will serve as their foundation for years to come. We are thrilled to partner with Fabien and the rest of Odoo’s leadership team.”

The recent launch of Odoo 18, the most advanced iteration of the companys software, on October 2nd, strengthens the companys market position and enhances overall performance and customer experience.

“ERPs are traditionally expensive and resource-intensive to implement, often failing to meet the actual needs and evolving requirements of SMEs. We have developed a unique value proposition that is playing a pivotal role in the market” explains Fabien Pinckaers, founder and CEO of Odoo S.A.

This €500 million investment exemplifies the international recognition and trust that Odoo has garnered within the investment community. Following investments led by Summit Partners in 2019, 2021 and 2022, this latest round further highlights Odoos appeal to investors.

“Odoo continues to deliver solutions that we believe are helping to transform the business software landscape – and they are doing so with impressive traction”, added Antony Clavel, a Managing Director at Summit Partners who has served on the Odoo Board of Directors since Summits initial investment in 2019. “We are delighted to welcome new investors and look forward to working together to support Odoos exciting growth trajectory.” Following this transaction, Summit remains Odoos largest institutional shareholder.

This new milestone paves the way for many more opportunities and expansion projects. It will enhance Odoo’s capabilities for research and development, allowing for accelerated innovation in its product offerings.

“We are expecting to open five new subsidiaries within the next three years across Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific”, said Sebastien Bruyr, Odoo S.A. Chief Commercial Officer. Odoos Chief Finance Officer, Alessandro Mazzocchetti, added, “Im confident that Odoo will remain profitable in terms of EBITDA and Cash Flow as we expand our team and global reach. We will keep working hard to serve our customers and partners!”.

For Olivier Vanderijst, CEO of Wallonie Entreprendre WE, “The visionary and strategic nature of Odoo’s management and the rigour with which it has implemented this vision have led to an incredible valuation of 5 billion dollars, which has attracted the best investors in the world. This is why WE has signed this transaction, while remaining a shareholder in the company to support its future growth as a local player“.

J.P. Morgan SE acted as exclusive placement agent on this transaction

About Odoo S.A.

Since its creation in 2002, Odoo has emerged as a leading integrated business solutions’ provider. With its range of integrated, scalable and functional applications, Odoo offers a comprehensive, modular suite that meets the specific needs of every business, making it a suitable solution for organizations of all sizes and sectors, from start-ups to large corporations.

With revenues of 370 million euros in 2023, estimated at 500 million euros over the next 12 months, Odoo employs nearly 5,000 people worldwide, including more than 1,200 in Belgium. In addition, the company has built over 7,500 partners, creating more than 30,000 business-related jobs in 130 countries. With 19 offices worldwide Belgium 5, Luxembourg, Spain, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Australia, USA 2, Mexico, Kenya, Dubai, Indonesia, Brazil, Italy), Odoo serves a global community of 12 million users. For more information, visit the Odoo website at www.odoo.com.

About Summit Partners

Summit Partners is a leading growth-focused investment firm. Summit invests across growth sectors of the economy and, since the firm’s founding in 1984, and has invested in more than 550 companies in technology, healthcare, and other growth industries. Notable technology and software companies financed by Summit Partners include Acturis, Avast, Darktrace, Calypso, FLEETCOR, Flow Traders, Infor, Klaviyo, Ogone, RELEX Solutions, Smartsheet and Trintech. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and seeks to invest in category-leading, profitable growth companies worldwide. For more information, please visit www.summitpartners.com or follow on LinkedIn.

About CapitalG

CapitalG, Alphabet’s independent growth fund, invests in remarkable companies transforming the fields of enterprise infrastructure, security, and data; fintech; and consumer services and marketplaces. CapitalG partners with growth stage companies in their transition from startup to scale up through hands-on assistance from its in-house growth experts and connections to Google’s engineering, product, marketing, sales and people operations experts worldwide. More than 35000 Googlers and Alphabet leaders have engaged with CapitalG portfolio companies, including Airbnb, CrowdStrike, Databricks, Duolingo, Freshworks, Gusto, Lyft, Stripe, UiPath, Monzo and Zscaler, among others. Learn more at www.capitalg.com.

About Sequoia

Sequoia helps daring founders build legendary companies from idea to IPO and beyond. We aim to be the first true believers in tomorrow’s most valuable and enduring businesses. We partner with a few outliers each year and go all-in, providing them with the hands-on help required at every stage of the company building journey. Our expertise comes from 50 years of working with legendary founders like Steve Jobs, Larry Page, Jan Koum, Jensen Huang, Brian Chesky, Jack Dorsey, Eric Yuan, Lynn Jurich, Patrick Collison, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, and Christina Cacioppo. In aggregate, Sequoia-backed companies account for more than 25% of NASDAQ’s total value. Since our inception, the vast majority of the money we invest has been on behalf of nonprofits and schools like the Ford Foundation, Mayo Clinic and MIT, which means most of the returns we generate benefit these great causes.

About AVP

AVP is a global venture capital firm specializing in high-growth, technology-enabled companies, managing more than $2 billion in assets across four investment strategies: Venture, Growth, Late Growth, and Fund of Funds. Since its establishment in 2016, AVP has invested in more than 60 technology companies in Venture and Growth stages in the US and Europe. With offices in New York, London, and Paris, AVP supports companies in expanding internationally and provides portfolio companies with tailored business development opportunities to further accelerate their growth. For more information about AVP, please visit www.axavp.com.

Contact: Sébastien Loubry, Partner Business development (sebastien@axavp.com)

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From Product to Platform: Our Continued Investment in Cyera

Accel

From Product to Platform: Our Continued Investment in Cyera

Today, Accel is thrilled to announce that we have led Cyera’s Series D financing round. We’re honored to continue building on our partnership with Yotam and Tamar as they help customers modernize their approaches to data security.

Accel has had the privilege of being Cyera’s partner since its Series A round in 2022. Back then, Yotam and Tamar identified a critical threat facing enterprises: securing vital business and customer data in a world of increasing complexity. Yotam and Tamar saw how cloud migration, data proliferation, and emerging technologies like Generative AI could create data-related security headaches for customers, a problem space with limited innovation and no true platform for managing vulnerabilities. Data-driven cyber attacks are growing in frequency and sophistication, and enterprises across industries are increasingly concerned with protecting against breaches of their own and their customers’ sensitive data.

Over the last year, Cyera has proven itself to be the most innovative player in data security, earning the trust of many Fortune 500 organizations. Yotam and Tamar are building a platform to support customers in securing data assets across multiple vectors – Posture Management, Identity, Data Loss Prevention, to name a few – and are leveraging the latest technologies, like AI and large language models, to do so. The team has innovated rapidly from when we first met Yotam and Tamar through our deep connectivity in the thriving Israeli start-up ecosystem. We continue to be impressed by their passion and by how their forward-thinking perspectives on the market have become reality.

At Accel, we look to back great entrepreneurs and businesses throughout their journeys. We are proud to be the largest institutional investor in Cyera, having previously led the Series A and Series B rounds. We’re excited to invest further in our partnership with the company, and we can’t wait to see what Yotam, Tamar, and the rest of the team accomplish.

The Accel Team

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Oakley Capital invests in Konzept & Marketing

Oakley Capital, a leading pan-European private equity investor, is pleased to announce that Oakley Capital Fund V is investing in Konzept & Marketing (“K&M”). K&M is a leading, independent Managing General Agent (“MGA”) in the German, personal non-life insurance market. Oakley will be investing alongside insurance veteran, Joachim Müller, former CEO of Allianz Commercial, who will oversee a buy-and-build strategy as Chairman.

Founded in 2001 and based in Hanover, K&M operates as an underwriting agent in Germany for private non-life insurance products (property, accident, liability), a growing market that is currently worth €28 billion. K&M develops, markets and administers tailored insurance products on behalf of insurance companies in an asset light model.

K&M Image

The Company has experienced continuous organic growth, driven by high and consistent renewal rates thanks to the company’s strong reputation for customer care and a focus on providing innovative solutions delivered through seamless digital processes.

Germany’s insurance distribution market is highly fragmented and lagging other markets such as the UK and US in the role that independent MGAs play as intermediaries. There is significant value creation potential for K&M to pursue a consolidation strategy spanning insurance brokerage and underwriting with differentiated product capabilities at its core.

In partnership with incoming Chairman Joachim Müller, Oakley will support the K&M management team to expand K&M’s product offering, strengthen the distribution function of the business, and pursue further M&A opportunities. The acquisition is expected to complete in Q4 2024.

Quote Peter Dubens

Germany’s insurance landscape is undergoing significant change, providing advantages for innovative businesses such as K&M to take on more of the insurance value chain while delivering a better service to end customers. We look forward to working with Joachim Müller to realise his growth and diversification strategy for the business, leveraging his strong reputation for successful business building and customer satisfaction.

Peter Dubens

Co-founder and Managing Partner — Oakley Capital

Quote Joachim Müller

By partnering with Oakley we can take advantage of their considerable expertise scaling businesses. We see enormous opportunity to create a leading player in Germany’s insurance ecosystem by leveraging excellence in underwriting and distribution combined with modern technology.

Joachim Müller

Incoming Chairman — K&M

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KKR Commences Second Tender Offer for FUJI SOFT

KKR

TOKYO–(BUSINESS WIRE)– KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced that in connection with its two-stage tender offer scheme (the “Tender Offer”) for the common shares and share options of FUJI SOFT INCORPORATED (“FUJI SOFT” or the “Company”; TSE stock code 9749) through FK Co., Ltd. (the “Offeror”), an entity owned by investment funds managed by KKR, it has commenced its second tender offer (“Second Tender Offer”) on November 20, 2024, which will run until December 19, 2024.

The tender offer price per common share is 9,451 yen, and 1,197,200 yen per 5th Series Share Option, 1,059,800 yen per 6th Series Share Option, and 293,200 yen per 7th Series Share Option.

This follows two unanimous resolutions by the Board of Directors of FUJI SOFT on November 15, 2024 and November 19, 2024 to express its opinion in support of the Second Tender Offer and to recommend the shareholders and share option holders of the Company tender their shares and options.

***

This press release should be read in conjunction with the release issued by the Offeror titled “Notice Regarding the Commencement of Tender Offer for the Shares of FUJI SOFT INCORPORATED (Securities Code: 9749).”

The purpose of this press release is to publicly announce the commencement of the Second Tender Offer and it has not been prepared for the purpose of soliciting an offer to sell or purchase in the Tender Offer. When making an application to tender, please be sure to read the relevant Tender Offer Explanatory Statement for the Tender Offer and make your own decision as a shareholder or share option holder. This press release does not constitute, either in whole or in part, a solicitation of an offer to sell or purchase any securities, and the existence of this press release (or any part thereof) or its distribution shall not be construed as a basis for any agreement regarding the Tender Offer, nor shall it be relied upon in concluding an agreement regarding the Tender Offer.

The Tender Offer will be conducted in compliance with the procedures and information disclosure standards set forth in Japanese law, and those procedures and standards are not always the same as the procedures and information disclosure standards in the U.S. In particular, neither sections 13(e) or 14(d) of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (as amended; the same shall apply hereinafter) or the rules under these sections apply to the Tender Offer; and therefore the Tender Offer will not be conducted in accordance with those procedures and standards.

Unless otherwise specified, all procedures relating to the Tender Offer are to be conducted entirely in Japanese. All or a part of the documentation relating to the Tender Offer will be prepared in English; however, if there is any discrepancy between the English-language documents and the Japanese-language documents, the Japanese-language documents shall prevail.

This press release includes statements that fall under “forward-looking statements” as defined in section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Due to known or unknown risks, uncertainties or other factors, actual results may differ materially from the predictions indicated by the statements that are implicitly or explicitly forward-looking statements. Neither the Offeror nor any of its affiliates guarantee that the predictions indicated by the statements that are implicitly or expressly forward-looking statements will materialize. The forward-looking statements in this press release were prepared based on information held by the Offeror as of today, and the Offeror and its affiliates shall not be obliged to amend or revise such statements to reflect future events or circumstances, except as required by laws and regulations.

The Offeror, its financial advisors and the Tender Offer agent (and their respective affiliates) may purchase the common shares and share options of FUJI SOFT, by means other than the Tender Offer, or conduct an act aimed at such purchases, for their own account or for their client’s accounts, in the scope of their ordinary business and to the extent permitted under financial instrument exchange-related laws and regulations, and any other applicable laws and regulations in Japan, in accordance with the requirements of Rule 14e-5(b) of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such purchases may be conducted at the market price through market transactions or at a price determined by negotiations off-market. In the event that information regarding such purchases is disclosed in Japan, such information will also be disclosed on the English website of the person conducting such purchases (or by any other method of public disclosure).

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com. For additional information about Global Atlantic Financial Group, please visit Global Atlantic Financial Group’s website at www.globalatlantic.com.

Media Contact
KKR Asia Pacific
Wei Jun Ong
+65 6922 5813
WeiJun.Ong@kkr.com

Source: KKR

 

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Pomerleau Capital announces it has completed the second round of financing for its PCap Real Assets Fund L.P.

Cdpq

Pomerleau Capital Inc., the financial arm of Pomerleau Inc., confirms it has completed the second round of financing for its PCap Real Assets Fund L.P.  (the “PCap Fund”). In addition to the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), which has increased its capital commitment, six (6) major financial partners have been added to this second round of financing: Banque Nationale Investissement (BNI), the Fondation Mirella et Lino Saputo, Société Financière Bourgie inc, the Lise and Giuseppe Racanelli family, Groupe Hewitt and Annie Lemieux of LSR GesDev. This second round of financing brings the total value of the PCap Fund to just over $200 million, in line with Pomerleau Capital’s strategic plan to build a $500 million fund over the next few years.

Thanks to this strategic investment and the invaluable support of its financial partners, Pomerleau Capital will be able to pursue new investment opportunities in a number of infrastructure, energy transition and building projects across the country.

The PCap Fund’s investment policy targets long-term investments of up to 30 years. It is based on environmental, social and governance criteria established by Pomerleau, from the project design stage through to investment portfolio management.

Since its creation in 2018, Pomerleau Capital has structured financing for projects worth over five billion dollars. The investment strategy that led to the establishment of the PCap Fund in 2021 has enabled it to be a long-term investor in several infrastructure and renewable energy projects worth over $500 million. Pomerleau has invested in wind power projects, an energy-efficient industrial building and a building dedicated to higher education. Some of these projects have been carried out in partnership with Borea Construction, a Pomerleau subsidiary that manages and builds renewable energy projects.

“Given the growing needs of communities, private enterprise has a vital role to play in financing the construction of sustainable infrastructure. We would like to thank the CDPQ for their renewed confidence, and the commitments of our six new partners. They are firmly rooted in the Québec business community and undertake major activities reaching right across Canada. Our PCap Fund now exceeds $200 million, strengthening our room for manoeuvre and diversifying our business opportunities,” says Pomerleau CEO Philippe Adam.

About Pomerleau Capital

Pomerleau Capital is Pomerleau’s financial arm specializing in the investment and financing of infrastructure, energy transition and building projects. The Pomerleau Capital team is dedicated to the development of investment opportunities, project financing and asset management. To date, Pomerleau Capital has structured over $5 billion in financing for large scale, complex infrastructure projects. Pomerleau Capital, manages a portfolio of over $500 million in assets, particularly through its Infrastructure Fund, that are focused on projects contributing to the development of healthy, sustainable communities. For more information on Pomerleau Capital, visit www.pomerleau.ca/en/pomerleau-capital.

About Pomerleau

Pomerleau is one of Canada’s largest construction companies, with close to $5 billion in revenues in 2023. It delivers buildings, infrastructures, civil engineering works, and major projects using collaborative models. With its research and development lab, Pomerleau integrates innovation in more than 70% of its projects and works in a sustainable way to build the living environments of tomorrow. Its subsidiary Borea executes 50% of the country’s renewable construction projects, and ITC Construction Group, acquired in 2022, is one of the largest residential construction companies in the West. It also owns Pomerleau Capital, a subsidiary specializing in private infrastructure investment and financing. Founded 60 years ago, Pomerleau has over 5,000 employees and workers at over 200 sites from coast to coast. The company has been named among Canada’s Top 100 Employers since 2020. www.pomerleau.ca

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ITC Service secures BGF investment to drive growth

BGF

The IT managed services provider, based in the North East, has raised £7 million to support its organic growth and M&A strategy.

19 November 2024
ITC Service secures BGF investment to drive growth

ITC Service, an IT managed services provider, has secured a £7 million investment from BGF.

Founded in 2016, by Christopher Potts and Peter Anderson, the Hebburn-based company delivers customer-focused, business-critical outsourced IT services to more than 400 SMEs across the North East of England. Services include managed IT support, cyber security, Microsoft 365 cloud services, voice, communication, consulting and digital transformation.

The funding from BGF will allow the business to continue scaling, through a combination of organic growth and the acquisition of complementary providers in neighbouring regions.

Commenting on the deal, Christopher Potts, ITC Founder and Director, said: “Over the last 18 years, we have built a highly successful, respected business that has developed a strong and valued client base. With the ongoing support of my co-founder Peter, I am excited to lead ITC forward, to continue to grow and support our region, to help more local businesses achieve their goals, and complete a carefully executed M&A strategy.

“In order to fulfil this potential, we need an investment partner that is willing to take a long-term approach to support our growth ambitions. With an excellent track record of backing exciting and dynamic businesses in the North East, we are confident BGF is the right choice and we’re delighted to have the team onboard.”

The deal was led by John Healey and Christian Pollard, investors in BGF’s Newcastle team. As part of the investment, Lee Shorten will join ITC’s board as non-executive chair.

“ITC is a real success story in the North East, where it has a long-established track record of delivering exceptional client outcomes. With an appetite to accelerate growth, through a leading service offering, combined with a client-focused approach, ITC is well positioned to expand its footprint in the regional market.”
John Healey
Investor at BGF

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Ciphr acquires employee benefits platform Avantus

ECI

ECI-backed Ciphr has moved into the employee benefits business, with the acquisition of Avantus.

Avantus, founded in 2005, serves over 400 businesses globally through its intuitive, and fully customisable, employee benefits and rewards platform, FlexGenius, and its popular, white-labelled solution MyWorkPal.

This is the third acquisition since ECI’s investment for Ciphr, having bought Marshalls (now Ciphr eLearning) in April 2023 and Shape Payroll in June this year, and builds on Ciphr’s strategy to acquire UK businesses that complement its core HCM offering. It’s also its largest acquisition to date – significantly expanding Ciphr’s customer proposition to include employee benefits and wellbeing for the first time.

Avantus’ robust platform enables employers to deliver unlimited, personalised benefits choices to multi-generational workforces with diverse needs and differing expectations and priorities. It can help strengthen organisations’ Employee Value Proposition, support their talent retention, recruitment and recognition strategies, and streamline the admin process for HR. And it empowers employees to manage and see the value of their eligible core and voluntary benefits, such as salary sacrifice, medical and dental cover, retail discounts, pensions, and financial protection, in one central, easy-to-use, portal.

Philip Curtis, Avantus’ co-founder and CEO, and his 30-strong team will also join Ciphr Group from today.

 

This is an exciting acquisition for Ciphr, and we’re delighted to welcome Philip and the Avantus team to the group. Avantus has a great reputation across the benefits and rewards industry for creating functionality-rich, people-centric technology that aims to make our working lives better.

This acquisition will truly enhance Ciphr’s HCM proposition and is an important step on our growth journey to becoming one of the UK’s top technology companies – providing cutting-edge HR, payroll, learning, recruitment and benefits software and services. One that not only serves its core market – UK-based, medium-sized organisations – but also is the provider of choice for companies based overseas looking to expand into Europe and the UK. Together, Ciphr and Avantus will be able to deliver an even better experience, and even better technologies, for our customers and their people.”

Sion Lewis

CEO, Ciphr

We are absolutely delighted that Avantus has become part of the Ciphr Group. With 20 years of experience behind us, our priority was to partner with an organisation that believes in, and shares, our customer-first ethos, and is committed to supporting us in our mission to deliver the very best in employee benefits technology. We are really excited about the opportunities that lie ahead, and are very much looking forward to working together with the Ciphr team to continue our growth journey.”

Philip Curtis

CEO, Avantus

Benefits has long been a focus for our M&A strategy, and we’re delighted to bring Avantus, a high-quality and fast-growth business, into Ciphr. Employee benefits is a rapidly growing market as employers seek to improve their value proposition and retain top talent in a competitive labour market. We’re looking forward to welcoming Philip Curtis and the rest of the Avantus team into the Ciphr group and continuing to work with Sion Lewis and the wider Ciphr team as they offer an even better service to HR teams across the UK.”

Stephen Roberts

Partner, ECI

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SeaCross joins Adelis’ recently established defence technology group

Adelis Equity

eaCross, the leading provider of navigation software for high-speed operations in littoral, coastal and open waters, welcomes Adelis Equity (“Adelis”) as new majority shareholder. SeaCross will join Adelis’ recently established defence technology group and marks the second investment of the group. The company group consists of leading niche software companies, with the joint mission to support the protection of people and societies.

SeaCross, the Swedish provider of navigation software for high-speed operations in littoral, coastal and open waters, enters a partnership with the recently established defence technology group founded by Adelis and its partners. The group will support SeaCross to realise its growth ambitions and back the management team, led by Axel Törneman, to successfully scale its business. SeaCross marks the second investment of the group, after the announcement of the partnership with Bruhn NewTech in July.

SeaCross is a leading provider of navigation software, focused on high-speed marine crafts navigating in littoral, coastal and open waters. The company serves customers across the globe and has a strong position in the defense market. Since its foundation c. 20 years ago, SeaCross has continuously developed its software in close collaboration with its customers. The company has grown strongly in recent years and sees strong interest in its products and services from customers across the globe to increase their marine navigation capabilities.

“We are very excited to join Adelis’ recently established defence technology group. We have a strong belief in that this group can help niche technology and software companies, like ourselves, to grow successfully and to even better support our customers. We really look forward to the partnership together with Bruhn NewTech, Adelis and the other partners in the group”, say CEO Axel Törneman and Chairman Harald Nilsonne, who will both remain shareholders in the company.

Continued commitment to deliver the best navigation software for high-speed crafts

In the partnership with Adelis and the defence technology group, SeaCross will continue to develop and invest in its software. The company remains committed to deliver on the end users’ high demand for a navigation software they can rely on, when navigating at high speed in the toughest condition possible.

“We are impressed by what Axel Törneman, Harald Nilsonne and their team have developed over the years. SeaCross plays in its own league when it comes to high-speed crafts navigation in littoral waters. We are pleased to welcome them to the defence technology group and look forward to the partnership ahead”, say Hampus Nestius and Joel Russ at Adelis.

Establishment of a defense technology and software group

SeaCross marks the second investment in the defense technology group established by Adelis and its partners. The group aspires to support Western and democratic countries to protect people and societies, as well as to support small- to mid-sized defense technology companies to scale and develop. The acquisition of SeaCross follows shortly after the first acquisition, of Bruhn NewTech, which was announced in July.

“We are very excited to get this group going and look forward to welcoming many more leading niche software and technology companies focused on the defense sector in the years ahead”, say Hampus Nestius and Joel Russ at Adelis.

The transaction closed in August, after having received applicable regulatory approvals. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

For further information:

Axel Törneman, SeaCross Marine AB

Hampus Nestius, Adelis Equity Partners

Joel Russ, Adelis Equity Partners

About SeaCross Marine

Born in Scandinavia, the SeaCross system was developed based on experience and knowledge derived from operating high-speed crafts in this exceptionally demanding navigational environment. Since the first product launch in 2006, SeaCross has evolved into a platform with unique functionality specifically designed for the most demanding environments and end users. This evolution continues through extensive collaboration with SeaCross customers – especially those whose needs exceed what the recreational market can offer. For more information, please visit https://www.seacross.se.

About Adelis Equity Partners

Adelis is a growth partner for well-positioned companies in the Nordic and DACH regions. Adelis partners with management and/or owners to build businesses in growth segments and with strong market positions. Since raising its first fund in 2013, Adelis has been one of the most active investors in the Nordic middle-market, making 42 platform investments and more than 230 add-on acquisitions. Adelis manages approximately €3.0 billion in capital. For more information, please visit www.adelisequity.com.

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Partners Group expands growth equity strategy, building on its long track record of investing in fast-growing companies

Partners Group

Baar-Zug, Switzerland; 19 November 2024

  • The expanded strategy will primarily focus on healthcare and technology
  • Partners Group has deployed around USD 2.5 billion in growth equity to-date
  • The firm has launched a dedicated growth evergreen fund in the US

Partners Group, one of the largest firms in the global private markets industry, has expanded its growth equity strategy (“the Strategy”), building on its long track record of investing in fast-growing companies. The expanded strategy will target companies in high-growth industries, particularly within the technology and healthcare sectors globally.

Partners Group will apply its thematic sourcing approach, which already tracks transformative growth trends across different sectors, to identify more growth-stage companies within the Strategy’s focus areas. The firm will also further leverage its extensive existing network amongst top growth investment managers, established through its Private Equity Partnership Investments business, to source opportunities.

Under the Strategy, Partners Group targets both growth buyouts, which typically include companies with scaled revenues and early profitability, and minority stakes in less mature companies with a path to profitability. To fall within scope, target companies need to have a differentiated offering, a strong product-market fit, and a resilient business model. Partners Group made its first growth investment in 2013 and has to-date deployed around USD 2.5 billion in the space. So far this year, the firm has made the following investments[1]:

  • Akur8 (France), a machine learning-powered insurance pricing and reserving platform, where Partners Group invested in a USD 120 million series C fundraising.
  • FairJourney Biologics (Portugal), a leading antibody discovery Contract Research Organization, where Partners Group acquired a majority stake.
  • Neara (Australia), a provider of cloud-native infrastructure modelling software, where Partners Group invested in a USD 31 million series C fundraising.
  • Sword Health (US), an AI-based musculoskeletal therapy solutions specialist, where Partners Group invested in a USD 130 million share sale.

Partners Group invests in growth equity investments through eligible existing private equity products and has recently launched a new evergreen fund in the US that is primarily focused on growth investments. Partners Group plans to launch other dedicated growth equity investment programs in the future.

Partners Group’s growth equity team is integrated within its Private Equity business, which has over 200 investment professionals globally, reflecting the strong synergies the Strategy has with the firm’s wider platform. The Private Equity business has a Health & Life Vertical team and a Technology Vertical team, both of which are supported by in-house research capabilities that guide the sourcing of investment opportunities.

Todd Miller, Partner, Head Private Equity Health & Life Vertical and Head Growth Equity, Partners Group, says: “With our integrated global investment platform and research-based thematic sourcing approach, we are well-positioned to invest across the entire valuation spectrum, from early-stage growth to buyout opportunities. Through our thematic research, we are uncovering more and more attractive growth opportunities across our focus areas in the healthcare and technology sectors. We expect this to continue as the cycle turns and investors come to terms with the new valuation paradigm. The expansion of our growth strategy will bring our current growth investing activities together and provide a platform from which to build on this momentum into the future.”

[1] Refers to the four investments that Partners Group has made under its growth strategy in 2024 YTD.

About Partners Group
Partners Group is one of the largest firms in the global private markets industry, with around 1’800 professionals and approximately USD 150 billion in overall assets under management. The firm has investment programs and custom mandates spanning private equity, private credit, infrastructure, real estate, and royalties. With its heritage in Switzerland and primary presence in the Americas in Colorado, Partners Group is built differently from the rest of the industry. The firm leverages its differentiated culture and its operationally oriented approach to identify attractive investment themes and to transform businesses and assets into market leaders. For more information, please visit www.partnersgroup.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

Partners Group media relations contact
Henry Weston
Phone: +44 207 575 2593
Email: henry.weston@partnersgroup.com

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Neo4j surpasses $200M in revenue, accelerates leadership in GenAI-driven graph technology

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Database pioneer continues to scale at $2B+ valuation as GenAI accelerates demand

San Mateo, California – November 19th, 2024 — Neo4j, the world’s leading graph database and analytics company, announced that it has surpassed $200 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR), doubling its ARR over the past 3 years. The company is on track to be cash flow positive in the coming quarters, driven by its leadership in the expanding graph technology market, which is critical for improving the accuracy, transparency, and explainability of Generative AI (GenAI) results.

Neo4j grew rapidly this year as organizations recognized graph databases as essential infrastructure for AI systems that leverage vast amounts of interconnected data. Neo4j serves as the optimized database for these applications. Growth was also driven by enterprise demand for Neo4j’s cloud offering which has increased fivefold over the last three years, and partnership traction with leading cloud hyperscalers and ecosystem leaders.

“By 2025, graph technologies will be used in 80% of data and analytics innovations, up from 10% in 2021, facilitating rapid decision-making across the enterprise,” predicts Gartner® in its Exploring the Top Use Cases for Graph Analytics report, May 10, 2024.

Neo4j leads the graph database management systems (DBMS) category with a 44% market share, based on an analysis by Cupole Consulting Group. Cupole estimates the total addressable market for the broader DBMS category at $110 billion in 2024, with graph DBMS growing at 32.6%+ CAGR driven by cloud adoption and emerging AI use cases.

Neo4j is used by 84% of all Fortune 100 companies and 58% of the Fortune 500. Examples include Daimler, Dun & Bradstreet, EY, IBM, Merck, NASA, UBS, Walmart, and others.

GenAI’s growing demand for graph databases and GraphRAG

Graph databases enable companies to store and query data in a way that mirrors how real-world entities are connected. Data is expressed as a knowledge graph, which grounds large language models (LLMs) in facts and rich context and gives AI systems better, faster access to relevant data critical for generating high-quality outputs.

Neo4j is also a leader in GraphRAG, a technique that enables LLMs to retrieve data from external sources, augmenting these systems with knowledge and preventing hallucinations. Gartner noted the importance of GraphRAG in its Hype CycleTM For AI in Software Engineering, 2024 report: “RAG techniques in an enterprise context suffer from problems related to the veracity and completeness of responses caused by limitations in the accuracy of retrieval, contextual understanding, and response coherence. KGs (Knowledge Graphs), a well-established technology, can represent data held within documents and the metadata relating to the documents. Combining both aspects allows RAG applications to retrieve text based on the similarity to the question and contextual representation of the query and corpus, improving response accuracy.”

2024 milestones accelerate Neo4j as the default database for interconnected data

Neo4j enables builders to make their data GenAI-ready and create applications faster and easier with outcomes that are accurate, transparent, and explainable to normal humans. In 2023, Neo4j incorporated native vector search into its core database capabilities for richer GenAI insights. In 2024, Neo4j brought its graph data science solution to Snowflake AI Data Cloud, expanded its alliance with Deloitte, and continues to offer native integrations with LLM offerings across all major hyperscalers that are current with their updates. Neo4j also transformed its cloud portfolio this year to accelerate graph adoption and GenAI for the enterprise.

The result has enabled Neo4j to advance its position as the category leader and the preferred graph partner across all major cloud service providers for its comprehensive offering, deployment flexibility, analytics, and strong community support, and accelerated further with GenAI.

Neo4j was named a Visionary in the 2023 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Cloud Database Management Systems among 19 other recognized global DBMS vendors. Neo4j was also ranked this year as a Strong Performer among 14 top vendors in The Forrester Wave™: Vector Databases, Q3 2024.

2025 growth fueled by new AI capabilities, cloud expansion, partnerships

Neo4j plans to add new GenAI features to its core offering, expand its capabilities for mainstream cloud adoption, and deepen partnerships to serve as the default graph analytics and GraphRAG layer.

The company recently secured $50 million in capital from Noteus Partners, a European specialist growth equity investment firm. While Neo4j is well capitalized and does not need the capital to run its business, the investment strengthens its balance sheet in the current macroeconomic climate, reaffirms the company’s $2 billion valuation, and underscores the Neo4j’s commitment to partnering with organizations it trusts and believes in.

Graph is expected to accelerate further with ISO and IEC’s 2024 publication of GQL, a new international standard for graph query language, signifying the maturity and omnipresence of graph technology. It is the first database query language to be certified since SQL in 1987. ISO invested more than five years of work into GQL with Neo4j involved from the start.

Supporting quotes

Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Co-Founder and CEO, Klarna

“At Klarna, we’re transforming the way we collaborate with our GenAI chatbot Kiki, powered by Neo4j’s knowledge graph. Kiki brings together information across multiple disparate and siloed systems, improves the quality of that information, and explores it, enabling our teams to ask Kiki anything from resource needs to internal processes to how teams should work. It’s having a huge impact on productivity in ways that were not possible to imagine before without graph and Neo4j.”

Patrick Pichette, Partner, Inovia Capital

“Neo4j is an amazing story of innovation leadership, growth, and market-defining maturity. And with GenAI now moving from experiment to deployment, graphs are now becoming a foundational layer for so many critical LLM business applications; Neo4j stands as a clear leader in the space.”

Carl Olofson, Vice President, IDC

“Neo4j pioneered the category of graph databases and continues to lead as an innovator, offering solutions that are increasingly vital for businesses managing complex, interconnected data. As demand for AI and advanced analytics grows, the role of graph technology will only become more critical for driving meaningful insights and decision-making.”

Emil Eifrem, Co-Founder and CEO, Neo4j

“This milestone is a testament to the growing recognition of graph technology as foundational to the new data stack. Neo4j empowers customers to transform data into knowledge, unlocking insights and possibilities that weren’t possible before. We’re now at the forefront of a seismic shift in how organizations achieve this with GenAI, with Neo4j uniquely positioned to enable this new wave of innovation.”

About Neo4j

Neo4j, the Graph Database & Analytics leader, helps organizations find hidden relationships and patterns across billions of data connections deeply, easily, and quickly. Customers leverage the structure of their connected data to reveal new ways of solving their most pressing business problems, from fraud detection, customer 360, knowledge graphs, supply chain, personalization, IoT, network management, and more – even as their data grows. Neo4j’s full graph stack delivers powerful native graph storage with native vector search capability, data science, advanced analytics, and visualization, with enterprise-grade security controls, scalable architecture, and ACID compliance. Neo4j’s dynamic open-source community brings together over 250,000 developers, data scientists, and architects across hundreds of Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and NGOs.

To learn more, visit: www.neo4j.com.

Categories: News