Workplace OHS app SafetyCulture has raised AU$60.5 million (US$35.5m) in series C funding, pushing the business into the unicorn club with a $1.3 billion valuation.
The surprising aspect to the raise is that around half the funds will go to around 10% of the employees who’ve been with SafetyCulture for than three years, giving them a timely chance to cash out some of their vested equity to investors who include former PM Malcolm Turnbull and his wife Lucy, and Kim Jackson’s Skip Capital.
The Series C-1 funding round was led by TDM Growth Partners, along with Blackbird Ventures, Index Ventures. SafetyCulture has now raised more than $150 million since 2014.
Founder and CEO Luke Anear said the company’s ability to secure the latest round was based on its continued growth across a diverse range of industries and countries.
More than 500,000 workers and 26,000 organisations in 85 countries use SafetyCulture’s iAuditor app to complete more than 600 million checks per year. Annual recurring revenue up 85% on 12 months ago and the business is now cash positive.
Anear said the $60.5 million raise was “an exciting milestone for us to achieve” in the current uncertain times.
“We’re particularly happy about giving employees the opportunity to sell some of their equity as a reward for all their hard work and continued loyalty,” he said.
The remainder of the funds will be used to hire more people and accelerate product development, with more than two years of product and feature development already scoped out. Anear’s vision is for iAuditor to evolve from a checklist app into a strategic platform that connects distributed teams, raising safety and quality standards.
SafetyCulture is currently hiring software engineers and product managers for features such enhanced analytics and IoT sensors, and telematics capabilities.
The business is also exploring opportunities to reduce risk and lower premiums for businesses by partnering with insurance providers.
With COVID-19 currently dominating the business landscape, Anear has offered six months of free access to iAuditor Premium and other SafetyCulture products to healthcare, emergency, education and volunteer workers.
“Keeping people safe is at the core of our company’s purpose. To support workers across industries affected by COVID-19, we’ve launched a series of tools to help them stay on top of COVID-19 related safety issues in the workplace,” he said.
SafetyCulture has teams in Sydney, Townsville, Kansas City, Manchester and Manila.
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