Chargebee banks $55m to capitalize on global SaaS surge

Subscription billing software provider Chargebee said it has raised US$55 million in a series F round of funding led by US-headquartered VC and private equity firm Insight Partners.

The newest injection, which also included participation from the startup’s existing backers, pushes Chargebee’s total funding raised to US$105 million, according to a statement.

(From left) Chargebee co-founders Rajaraman Santhanam, Thiyagarajan Thiyagu, K.P. Saravanan, and Krish Subramanian / Photo credit: Chargebee

Through its platform, Chargebee automates revenue operations such as collecting payment information. It also performs billing adjustments and subscription renewals for software-as-a-service (SaaS) businesses, ecommerce platforms, and subscription-based services.

Since its establishment in 2011, the startup has onboarded over 2,500 companies globally, including cloud software firm Freshworks, coffee and sandwich shop Pret a Manger, and e-learning company Study.com.

The startup claims it has the largest global footprint in terms of payment, billing, and tax management coverage, helping its clients expand into new geographies and recurring business models.

What are its future plans? Chargebee will use the new funds to enhance its product and integration ecosystem. According to the startup, this push comes as more companies globally deploy their own subscription services.

Subscription-based companies are still growing even amid the Covid-19 pandemic, found a recent report by enterprise software firm Zuora. Of those surveyed, roughly half said they have not seen a significant impact on their subscription metrics amid the global crisis, while 18% saw accelerated growth.

“We are already seeing a ‘SaaS-i-fication’ of the traditional enterprise – with cars to coffee sellers adapting a subscription-first business mode like SaaS. Our focus is to enable this shift and help both startups and existing enterprises deploy and scale through this new business model,” a spokesperson for Chargebee told Tech in Asia.

To capitalize on this, the company looks to add more enterprise capabilities and beef up its product localization as it enters more international markets, the person added.

How much traction has it gotten? Chargebee claims it has been more than doubling its revenue year-on-year consistently since 2017. Its prior funding round, which netted it US$14 million from lead investor Steadview Capital and others, has helped it scale its product up to serve the mid-market and enterprise segments, the company added.

“Over the last year, we’ve worked with both emerging technology scale-ups as well as established enterprises to help them adapt and grow with a subscription-first business model in the new normal,” Chargebee explained.

For 2020, the startup said it’s already projected to log a 100% annual revenue growth. For next year, it aims to expand its footprint into more countries worldwide, especially in Asia Pacific. The company said it recently set up an office in the Netherlands and Sydney.

What challenges has it faced recently? According to Chargebee, the Covid-19 pandemic posed three interesting challenges for its business.