SeekOut, a Seattle-based recruiting software company, announced an impressive milestone this week: it has raised $115 million in Series D funding. It is now adding a “unicorn” to its list of achievements. This puts the company, founded in 2012, firmly into the ranks of tech startups with a valuation of over $1 billion. The latest unicorn sighting in Seattle once again brings the region to the forefront of the tech industry.
Let’s take a closer look at this impressive feat.
What is a unicorn?
A unicorn is a term used in the business world to describe a privately held startup company valued at over $1 billion. The term was first popularized by venture capitalist Aileen Lee, who chose the mythical animal to represent the statistical rarity of such successful ventures.
In recent years, venture capital investments have surged into unicorn startups, leading to an unprecedented number of companies achieving both rapid growth and high valuations. Many of these success stories have resulted from historical increases in venture capital (e.g., “big tech”), exit strategies for existing investors (e.g., IPOs), and investor confidence (e.g., Amazon, Tesla).
The most recent unicorn sighting in Seattle is SeekOut, a recruiting software company that has closed a $115 million funding round led by Goldman Sachs Private Capital Investing and Tiger Global Management. This latest round values SeekOut at more than $1 billion and makes it one of only 35 Seattle-based unicorns – two others being Zillow Group ($8B valuation) and Convoy ($2B valuation).
Background on SeekOut
SeekOut is a Seattle-based software company that provides comprehensive recruitment solutions to organizations of all shapes and sizes. Founded in 2016, it has grown rapidly to become one of the premier providers of intelligent search and recruiting solutions for hiring teams. Its mission is to make recruiting more efficient, equitable, and transparent.
Recently, SeekOut secured $115 million in Series C funding from marquee investors such as Tiger Global Management, Lead Edge Capital and Cisco Investments. This injection of capital will enable the company to further accelerate product development, expand into new markets, hire talent from across the globe, and strengthen its commitment to serving customers.
This influx of cash propels SeekOut into unicorn status – companies worth over $1 billion – making it the latest technology company based in Seattle to achieve this remarkable feat in a region that continues to be an innovation hub for startups.
Latest unicorn sighting in Seattle: SeekOut lands $115M to expand recruiting software
The latest unicorn sighting in Seattle has generated a lot of buzz. The Seattle based recruiting software SeekOut has landed $115 million in investment and is rapidly expanding. This is the biggest unicorn to have been seen in Seattle yet, and it has certainly been an exciting development for the technology industry.
Let’s take a closer look at this impressive development.
Overview of the latest round of funding
On February 10th, 2021, SeekOut, a Seattle-based recruiting software company, announced that it had raised $115 million in funding. This funding round was led by Goldman Sachs Growth and included participation from existing investors Accel Partners and GGV Capital. With this latest round of funding, SeekOut’s total funding has now reached $164 million.
SeekOut has become the fastest-growing tech company in the Seattle region with its SaaS platform which enables recruiting teams to identify and hire top talent efficiently. The platform integrates with existing enterprise tools such as ATS (applicant tracking systems), CRMs (customer relationship management systems), job boards and social networks. By leveraging AI and natural language processing capabilities through its proprietary Talent Cloud Database, SeekOut is able to offer highly scalable identification of top candidates for any desired job role.
This new round of funding will enable SeekOut to expand their enterprise software product suite so that people finders can effectively use their AI technology for direct sourcing initiatives such as employee referrals or personal network outreach programs. In short, the latest unicorn sighting in Seattle is all about enabling recruiters to more quickly find top talent across the globe through using cutting-edge hiring technology powered by AI.
How much was raised
In a move targeting the professional human resources technology industry, Seattle-based SeekOut recently announced it has raised $115 million in its latest funding round, further proving the need for a comprehensive talent search and engagement software.
Founded in 2017, SeekOut leverages machine learning to power its software and offer an expansive platform with tools such as candidate intelligence, full lifecycle recruiting and more. With this latest injection of capital, SeekOut is looking to expand the capabilities it offers to their customers and drive more innovation with their product lineup.
The initial investment came from two new investors — Sapphire Ventures and Menlo Ventures — as well as investments from existing backers Geodesic Capital, Shasta Ventures, Shipyard Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank. These investments will enable them to invest in development teams, bolster customer success programs, focus on product innovation and create cross-function partnerships with stakeholders.
Regardless of how they use the funds, there is no denying that unicorns are now abundant within Seattle’s technology landscape.
Who invested
SeekOut, a Seattle-based recruiting software startup, announced on Thursday that it has secured $115 million in funding from investors including Tiger Global Management, Annox Capital and Regal Point Capital. This latest round brings the company’s total funding to $142 million since it was founded four and a half years ago.
The funding will be used to accelerate product and technology innovation, further expand its suite of global recruiting solutions including the Talent Search Platform, the White Glove Concierge Service and the blind referral platform BlindLoop. It will also be used to double down on its commitment to helping organizations find diverse talent by increasing access to underrepresented skillsets such as disability inclusion.
SeekOut’s mission is focused on making talent accessible by marrying powerful artificial intelligence with an intuitive user experience, allowing recruiters to quickly find qualified candidates that match their exact criteria and interests. The platform is currently used by more than 1,000 customers globally, including seven of the Fortune 100 companies.
Impact of the Investment
The recent investment of $115M in Seattle-based SeekOut is expected to have a big impact on the recruitment software market.
The new funding will allow the company to develop new technology and expand their reach to employers and candidates. Additionally, the investment will open up new opportunities and help to create new jobs in the Seattle area.
Let’s take a closer look into the impact of the investment.
How will SeekOut use the funds
SeekOut, a Seattle-based company that provides recruitment software, has recently raised $115M in funding. This injection of cash will allow them to expand their business and reach more customers. The funds will be used to drive product innovation, establish new features and functionalities for their software, and build on their market presence.
In the short-term, SeekOut plans to use the funds to increase its research and development efforts – incorporating artificial intelligence into the recruitment process and leveraging data science techniques. In addition, continued work on UX/UI design is planned in order make the product as user-friendly as possible.
In addition, part of this large round of funding will also be devoted to expanding the marketing strategy for SeekOut products by increasing visibility in search engine results. They aim to have a strong presence in organic searches related to job search platforms so that when job seekers are looking for an alternative solution they can find SeekOut more easily.
Lastly, a portion of these funds are being allotted towards developing closer partnerships with existing customers in order to provide them with an utmost high quality experience using their services. By strengthening these existing relationships they hope their customers can see the progress being made from the investments made from this extended round of funding.
What will this mean for the Seattle tech scene
The recent announcement of SeekOut’s $115M Series C round signifies the continued growth and success of the Seattle tech scene. The investment, led by Iconiq Growth, will support SeekOut’s plans to expand its recruiting software, giving them a firmer footing in the market with proprietary features that include AI-powered candidate matching, automated skills recognition and background screening capabilities.
The latest unicorn sighting in Seattle speaks to the strength of local start-up ecosystems that entrepreneurs have worked hard to cultivate over the past few years. This year alone has seen a number of large investments made in Seattle startups, helping spur entrepreneurial activity and creating new jobs that benefit the city’s economy.
This investment also serves as a reminder of why Seattle is one of the nation’s top tech hubs. It’s home to an unmatched combination of talent, resources and venture capital available for emerging companies. Investing in a larger pool of local startups will allow them to continue to innovate across many industries like healthcare IT, cloud computing and automotive technology, which have traditionally made up much of Washington’s tech sector. Furthermore, increased availability in early-stage capital could help unlock larger rounds for later stage companies looking for Series A through C funding options.
In addition to providing jobs and capitalizing on technological advances already underway in Seattle – including advances like facial recognition software – investments like these will help create a sustainable environment for entrepreneurs and give them more resources available for continued innovation into future technologies beyond those traditional sectors that make up Seattle’s tech scene today.
Conclusion
SeekOut’s most recent unicorn sighting in Seattle is an exciting new development for the tech startup industry. Not only does this indicate the city’s ongoing emergence as an innovation hub, but it also serves to highlight the immense potential of SeekOut’s recruiting software.
In this conclusion, we’ll summarize the key points of this latest unicorn sighting in Seattle.
Summary of the unicorn sighting
On March 3rd 2021, the recruiting software company SeekOut announced the closing of a $115M Series C funding round. This latest unicorn sighting in Seattle was led by Insight Partners and Redpoint Ventures, with participation from existing investors including Sapphire Ventures and Madrona Venture Group. This new round of funding brings the total amount raised by SeekOut to $169 million — enough to propel the company into unicorn status.
SeekOut is a fast-growing platform that offers recruiters and employers powerful tools such as AI-driven sourcing, credential verification, and diverse candidate sourcing. The new funds will go towards developing new advanced features, expanding its customer base both domestically and abroad, and supporting hiring operations at larger enterprises. With this latest fundraising accomplishment, SeekOut demonstrates their commitment to revolutionizing job-seeking tactics in the recruitment industry.
What to expect in the future
The latest unicorn sighting of Seattle-based SeekOut indicates a promising future for the recruitment software industry. The successful funding round shows that the startup is on its way to becoming a reputable player in the recruitment software market and could eventually lead to an IPO or other strategic partnership.
As technology continues to revolutionize the way people work, more organizations are turning to digital solutions for their recruiting needs. This trend will likely continue and contribute to demand for solutions such as SeekOut’s. It can be expected that similar software companies will emerge, leading to added competition and innovation in the market.
Organizations are increasingly seeking out automated solutions that not only meet their immediate needs but also provide future-proof capabilities to grow with their changing requirements. Companies in this space must keep up by delivering products that meet these demands in order to stand out from their competitors.
The success of SeekOut’s latest funding round provides a glimpse into what organizations should expect from emerging recruitment software tools — increased efficiency, reduced costs, improved employee satisfaction, and better overall results for any organization investing in these tools.
