Montreal-based GSoft, which provides software solutions for employee experience, has secured a $125-million investment from Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) to pursue more acquisitions.
GSoft made its first acquisition in February with Quebec City company Didacte, which offers a web-based learning management system. That deal follows a significant period of growth for GSoft, hitting an annual recurring revenue of $100 million in 2021 that gave it the “centaur” designation.
“It’s the right time to take GSoft to the next level.”
– Simon De Baene, GSoft CEO
The financing makes CDPQ the first external investor in GSoft. CDPQ is a pension fund that invests in companies and assets in a number of categories such as equity markets, private equity, real estate, infrastructure, and fixed income.
CDPQ is also the largest shareholder in other Montreal-based tech companies including CGI and Lightspeed Commerce. As of December 2022, the firm said its net assets totalled $402 billion CAD.
Bootstrapped since its inception 17 years ago, GSoft said this contribution from CDPQ will be used to execute the company’s growth strategy through acquisitions, broadening its product suite, as well as expanding the scope of its share in existing and new markets.
“It’s the right time to take GSoft to the next level and continue to build and grow our company so that it can thrive for decades to come,” said Simon De Baene, GSoft’s co-founder and CEO. “With the support of CDPQ, we have the financial means to seize more of the opportunities we see in the market.”
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When it was founded in 2006, GSoft initially operated as a software development services company, then later started building its own solutions focused on employee experience. It closed its services business in 2017 to focus on its proprietary products.
GSoft has built a suite of software offerings since then. Its products include capabilities for Microsoft 365 management, employee onboarding, skills development, as well as learning management from Didacte, among others.
Featured image courtesy GSoft.