Summit Partners leads investment round to further accelerate Akeneo’s product development roadmap, bolster strategic hiring and support international growth
Akeneo, a global leader in product experience management (PXM) and product information management (PIM), today announced a $135 million Series D financing. The funding round is being led by global growth equity investor Summit Partners. Existing investors Alven and Partech are also participating in this latest round, bringing Akeneo’s total investment raised to $196 million. The new capital will be used to drive continued momentum through an accelerated product development roadmap, key executive hires, and expansion of Akeneo’s strategic partnerships.
Akeneo is on a mission to fundamentally disrupt the product information category and better serve the rapidly growing needs of modern omnichannel brands and retailers. While many brands understand that PIM provides an important foundation for creating the engaging product experiences needed to turn first-look browsers into repeat shoppers and loyal customers into lifelong brand advocates, many lack the single source of truth to turn that vision into reality. Akeneo’s PXM solution is designed to help these companies reimagine their operations – making PIM a cornerstone of commercial success and helping influence new growth opportunities and drive revenue across their operations and sales channels.
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“The customer journey changed in the blink of an eye, and we believe the most nimble and effective way to manage these ever-evolving dynamics is to invest in creating product experiences that resonate no matter where the customer is browsing or buying,” said Fred de Gombert, CEO and co-founder of Akeneo. “Brands and retailers are becoming as invested in building and managing their product information as they are in managing customer information, and we see this trend playing out in our platform adoption rates, new customer additions, and revenue growth. We are extremely grateful to our investors and partners; this momentum would not be possible without their continued support.”
Leading global brands including Fossil, 1-800 Flowers, and John Deere leverage Akeneo’s PXM Studio platform to centralize product information, quickly measure and enrich product data quality and consistency, and deliver compelling, consistent, and personalized product experiences across all sales channels and touchpoints; ultimately to increase sales, reduce time to market, and boost productivity.
The latest funding round will enable Akeneo to develop its PXM Studio platform further, by incorporating key product information such as real-time product availability and inventory, dynamic pricing, order management, competitive product insights, merchandising information, and user-generated content,
with a goal to bring to market new offerings that consolidate this more dynamic and complete picture of product information alongside powerful analytics and insights.
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The company has gained strong momentum since its Series C in September 2019, and today serves more than 600 customers across 40 countries. Akeneo’s open-source platform has been downloaded more than 80,000 times, with installations growing at a CAGR of more than 170% over the past seven years. Additionally, Akeneo’s partner ecosystem expanded by 30% in 2021, and the company’s employee headcount grew 40% to more than 300 employees in nine countries within the same period.
“Brands and retailers today understand the importance of delivering personalized experiences that are rich with relevant product content at every step along the customer buying journey,” said Steffan Peyer, Managing Director at Summit Partners. “The Akeneo team has been visionary in expanding beyond PIM and establishing an elevated standard in PXM, an approach we believe is necessary for both B2B and B2C companies alike. As seasoned technology investors, we have been impressed by the company’s momentum and ability to scale globally, and we look forward to supporting the team as they continue to build Akeneo’s leadership position in the market.”
Akeneo is announcing the Series D funding at Unlock 2022, the annual global summit for the PIM and PXM community taking place March 15-16 in Paris. This year marks the in-person return of Unlock, which went virtual in 2021, featuring keynote presentations from Akeneo partners and customers LVMH Group, Boohoo, Accor, Rémy Cointreau, Royal Canin, and more.
