French startup Pigment has raised a $145 million Series D funding round, representing a major win for the country’s tech ecosystem according to a report by TechCrunch. Founded in 2017, Pigment has developed a business planning platform that helps large companies visualize financial performance and forecast future quarters.
As Romain Dillet from TechCrunch outlines, funding rounds in France declined 38% year-over-year in 2023. However, this drop is skewed by capital-intensive sectors like EVs that are less representative of the software industry. Within pure SaaS, startups have faced challenges. Pigment’s success therefore stands out as an exception.
Existing investors led the round, showing confidence in Pigment’s rapid growth. Iconiq Growth doubled down while Sandberg Bernthal Venture Partners, IVP, Meritech, Greenoaks and Felix Capital also participated, having backed previous rounds. Dillet notes the round size and valuation increase less than a year after Pigment’s Series C signals the company’s strong performance.
Co-founder and co-CEO Eléonore Crespo credits tripling revenue and doubling the customer base in 2023, with major clients like Unilever, Datadog and Merck. Half of Pigment’s customers are US-based. According to Crespo, investors encouraged an early up-round given the company’s trajectory.
Pigment provides a modern SaaS platform integrating with various data sources. CFOs and finance teams use it for reporting and budgets. However, Crespo notes significant product development to serve sales, HR and supply chain teams through customized modules and collaboration features.
The platform acts as a central repository for key metrics. Customers can ask questions in natural language to get quick answers, like revenue breakdowns by country. Pigment has also optimized for large datasets and complex calculations required by enterprises.
As Dillet explains, Pigment faces entrenched competition from Oracle and SAP’s legacy tools. Its success highlights how startups can disrupt mature industries by providing better products that make customers’ operations easier. Continuous innovation will be key for Pigment to maintain its challenger position long-term.
This funding round stands out as a rare high-profile win for the French tech ecosystem. It demonstrates that with strong execution, startups in Europe can still attract global investors, even in a downturn. Pigment’s performance provides a case study for other European SaaS companies on achieving rapid growth through excellent product-market fit. Its success bodes well for the future of France’s emerging software industry.