Axonify, the Waterloo-based employee-learning software company, announced today that it has raised $US27 million in growth equity funding.
The round was led by a new Axonify investor, U.S.-based JMI Equity, along with existing investor BDC Capital.
Axonify’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform enables companies to use employee learning to drive better business results and save money on costly items such as lost-time accidents and employee theft.
“By intelligently delivering information to employees in a way that is personalized, convenient, engaging, and designed for long-term knowledge acquisition, “Axonified” organizations see measurable behaviour change that gets bottom line results,” the company said in a release today.
Axonify’s clients include Walmart, Toyota, Bloomingdale’s and Johnson & Johnson.
“We are absolutely thrilled to have JMI Equity join our investor group and to have the BDC IT Venture Fund affirm its confidence in our business by investing more,” said Carol Leaman, Axonify’s President and CEO.
In an e-mail interview with Communitech, Leaman said the fresh infusion of funds "will be used to grow the business on all fronts. We have a long and exciting product roadmap to execute on, and a massively untapped market opportunity where we can spend a lot more on sales and marketing. Then of course we need professional services to support our customers. So basically every area of the business is going to see big growth."
The latest investment could be considered a Series C round, Leaman said, adding that "we don't expect to raise again."
Leaman, a serial entrepreneur who successfully led the sale of analytics startup PostRank to Google in 2011, has been named one of Canada’s top female entrepreneurs. Axonify, founded in 2012, has been growing quickly under her leadership.
Last month, the company hired Joe Wagner, formerly of Boston-based GT Nexus, as its Chief Operating Officer, as it works to scale its operations.
Axonify started 2016 with 45 employees and will end it with 120, with plans to add about 50 more next year, Leaman said.