Freshworks Valued At $12.2 Billion After Nasdaq IPO

Software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider Freshworks has enjoyed a successful initial public offering on the Nasdaq.

Although headquartered in San Mateo, California, Freshworks actually began life back in 2010 as Freshdesk, in Chennai (formerly Madras), India, where it still has a sizeable presence.

Observers are casting it as a rival to CRM giant Salesforce, as 52,000 customers are already using its SaaS service to manage and engage with their customers.

Successful IPO

Included in its customer management offerings for example are a messaging platform, as well as an artificial-intelligence powered chatbot for customer support.

The firm had offered 28.5 million shares on Tuesday, priced at $36 per share for its IPO.

But after it launched on Nasdaq its shares opened 21 percent above that, at $43.50 per share.

This valued the firm at an impressive $12.2 billion on its debut.

The firm hoped to raise $1.03 billion in funding.

It had previously been valued at $3.5 billion in a 2019 funding round. Investors include well known venture capitalist Accel, as well as Tiger Global Management.

Freshworks has benefited during the Coronavirus pandemic, as revenues rose 40 percent thanks to companies being forced to adopt hybrid working models.