Germany’s Staffbase, which provides internal communications software to businesses, has raised a $145 million Series D round led by General Atlantic. The new funding follows the firm’s recent merger with Kelowna, British Columbia-based startup Bananatag.
In March, Staffbase and Bananatag announced that they had merged to become a “one-stop-shop” for internal communication. The financial terms of the merger were not disclosed.
In March, Staffbase merged with Bananatag, a Kelowna-based internal communications software startup.
Staffbase has built a mobile-first platform to help organizations reach their employees. Bananatag, which began as email tracking software, grew into an internal communications platform used by over 600 organizations before merging with Staffbase.
The combined company, which will operate under the Staffbase brand, now serves as an internal communications platform for 1,000 businesses around the world with 450 employees across North America and Europe.
Existing Staffbase investors Insight Partners and e.ventures also participated in the round. The Chemnitz, Germany-based company plans to use the new funding to fuel its international growth and “strengthen its global leadership in the employee engagement space.”
“The partnership with General Atlantic will further help us achieve this and accelerate our growth, especially in North America,” said Martin Böhringer, CEO and co-founder of Staffbase.
As part of the new partnership, Achim Berg, operating partner at General Atlantic and president of Bitkom, Germany’s digital association, will join Staffbase’s advisory board.
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Staffbase has offices in Vancouver, Kelowna, New York, London, Amsterdam, and Germany. The company’s clients include Adidas, Audi, Groupon, Hitachi, Ikea, Johns Hopkins University, Suncor, and Volvo, among others.
“Our people are incredibly proud of the brand we’ve built and the many customers we have the privilege of serving,” said Bananatag CEO and co-founder Corey Wagner following the merger. “We couldn’t be more excited to take this giant leap forward for our customers and the internal communication field.”
In a blog post announcing the merger, Bananatag called the move good news for its users. “For now, we’re here for you just as we were yesterday,” wrote Bananatag. “But soon, you’ll get double the resources, double the product, and triple the team working for your success.”
The merger broadened Staffbase’s platform to include email, employee app, intranet, chat and “deep integrations” with Slack and Microsoft 365, including Teams and SharePoint.
Photo courtesy of Staffbase