Digital workplace platform Saltmine has announced $20 million Series A funding. The round included a new investment from JLL Spark, the strategic investment arm of commercial real estate services firm JLL, as well as participation from existing investors, Singapore-based Jungle Ventures and Xplorer Capital.
In a release, the company said that in addition to its capital investment, JLL has entered into an agreement to sell Saltmine’s software directly to its customers, creating a powerful distribution channel for Saltmine’s innovative platform.
Founded in 2017 to serve a global client base, Saltmine has grown to more than 125 employees in five offices across Asia, Europe and North America – with its headquarters in San Francisco. It is now looking at expanding its client base in India which remains a stable and attractive office-property market despite COVID-19 setback last year.
With the new financing from the Series A round, Saltmine will continue to invest in talent acquisition – with a focus on growing its sales, customer success, product and engineering team. It will also expand its portfolio of Global 2000 companies, many of which are seeking to re-invent their offices in a resilient, hybrid manner amid the global pandemic. In addition, this will also accelerate the firm’s growth in Asia Pacific – particularly in markets like Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Jungle Ventures Managing Partner David Gowdey said, “Saltmine is an example of Southeast Asia’s ability to build a world-leading software, which is defining a massive unserved category.”
“Their workplace design software will help large enterprises safely bring employees back into the office, using smart technology. We are proud to partner with Saltmine in their growth journey and support the global team as they scale the business,” Gowdey added.
Saltmine Founder and CEO Shagufta Anurag said, “Real estate is the second-largest cost for companies and has a direct impact on their largest cost – their people.”
“As organisations continue to mature in India, they are looking to now adopt world-class technology and processes to manage their workplace. The pandemic has accelerated that trend, and we now believe the timing is right to further increase Saltmine’s adoption in this market,” Anurag added.
Saltmine’s platform houses all workplace data – including strategy, design, pricing, and portfolio analytics – in one place. By combining real-time data aggregated from utilisation sensors and employee sentiment information, Saltmine is an essential tool for any company looking to continuously optimise and make their workplace more agile and responsive to changing employee needs and business goals, the release added.
Saltmine’s corporate clients include global firms such as Workday, Fidelity, PG&E and Snowflake. In India, it has renowned names such as Space Matrix, ANSR and Northern Trust, among others in its portfolio. Through partnerships with JLL and other major commercial real estate and design firms including Cushman & Wakefield, Newmark and Interior Architects, Saltmine has created an ecosystem built on network effects, and quickly established itself in a new category of enterprise cloud technology.
Saltmine also announced the appointment of Jim Baum onto its Board of Directors and Shawn Green as the company’s Chief Revenue Officer.
Baum, who currently serves as an Executive-in-Residence at General Catalyst as well as Chairman of the data company Cazena, has more than 25 years of experience in leading growth at innovative technology firms.
Green brings extensive enterprise sales and leadership experience to his new role as CRO, where he will be integral to further establishing Saltmine’s presence in North America.
