SaaS firm CRMNext raises $16 mn in Series B funding round

Software-as-a-service (SaaS) venture CRMNext on Thursday said it has raised $16 million (Rs 119.5 crore) as part of its Series B funding round co-led by Avataar Ventures and Ascent Capital.  

The fresh capital will be used for geographical expansion and to double it team members, CRMNext in a statement said.  

Nishant Singh, CEO and founder of CRMNext, said that the company has been able to double its annual recurring revenue (ARR) in fiscal ended March 31, 2021 despite most of its customers having curtailed their operations massively because of Covid-19.  

"In such a setting, to deliver a 150% net dollar retention rate speaks volumes in terms of our customer’s belief in CRMNext as a strategic platform for them," he said.  

The company also registered its highest ever revenue and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) in fiscal 2020-21.  

"My ultimate vision is for us to help usher in the autonomous banking revolution," he added.  

CRMNext is a digital and customer experience transformation platform for enterprise banks and financial service providers globally. Its platform is used by more than 1 million users to manage more than a billion customers, it claims. It has offices in 11 countries across US, Middleast, Africa and Southeast Asia.  

"While CRMNext is already the most dominant financial services tech provider in Asia, we now have clear proof points of our products resonating even in western markets," Nishant Rao, board member and founding partner of Avataar Ventures, said.  

In 2014, CRMNext, which is operated by Acidaes Solutions Pvt. Ltd, had raised Rs 42 crore ($7 million) from Norwest Venture  Partners. https://www.vccircle.com/norwest-venture-partners-invests-7m-customer-relationship-management-firm/  

In 2019, Avataar's fund kick-started its investments by acquiring stakes held by Norwest in a portfolio of six companies including CRMNext.  

Avataar was floated by former executives at Norwest Venture Partners Mohan Kumar and Rao, who was previously with Freshworks Inc.  

Global private equity investment firm HarbourVest Partners LLC had come in as the single Limited Partner (LP), or investor, in the $300 million (Rs 2,129 crore) venture capital fund of Avataar.