Accountancy software startup Karbon counts on $93 million raise

Accounting practice management software company Karbon has raised $US66 million (A$93m) from US investor Tidemark Capital.

The seven-year-old US-based Australian venture now operates in more than 20 countries offering cloud-based business management software for SMB accounting firms. It is now the preeminent independent practice management solution in the accounting industry globally.

The latest round comes 11 months after a US$10 million raise, led by Five Elms. The fresh cash delivers a more than five-fold uplift in the value of the business from $70 million in March 2021 to $400 million now.

Tidemark Capital was launched last year by former Technology Crossover Ventures general partner David Yuan. He’s now built a US$350 million investment war chest to back category leaders in Vertical SaaS business. Karbon co-founder Stuart McLeod sold an earlier payroll software startup to Xero in 2011, and Yuan had backed the New Zealand accountancy software platform during his 16 years at TCV, so was keeping an eye on McLeod’s next venture.

Posting on why Tidemark backed Karbon, the VC firm said they rarely see solutions that are as valued by customers, with more than 80% of users saying it was the most important part of their technology stack.

“Having operated under a bootstrapped mentality for a number of years, Karbon has achieved impressive growth on the back of an incredible product offering and strong inbound demand. Karbon has a massive opportunity to accelerate growth through strategic investments in its go-to-market motion and relationships with channel partners like Intuit,” Tidemark wrote.

“We believe with high certainty that Karbon has the product and organisational foundation to become the holistic practice management solution for the accounting industry.”

McLeod said it critical for the business to find investors that shared their values and had the experience to help them.

“Dave and the entire Tidemark team fit the bill. Dave is one of the most experienced, thoughtful and strategic people I have encountered. He brings a wealth of B2B and vertical SaaS pattern recognition from his prior investments in Toast, Xero, CCC, Legalzoom, SiteMinder and others,” he said.

“The Tidemark team will be Karbon’s X-factor, and I am truly humbled that we can attract such an amazing set of experienced people.”