Investment firm Vista Equity Partners agreed yesterday to acquire a controlling stake in Gainsight, a US-based data software producer backed by networking technology provider Cisco and enterprise software producer Salesforce.
Gainsight CEO Nick Mehta told Forbes the deal will value the company at $1.1bn, adding that some investors had maintained stakes, but its earlier investors were likelier to have completely exited through the transaction.
Founded in 2009, Gainsight has built a software platform that uses artificial intelligence to discover which customers are at risk of going elsewhere so that businesses can increase engagement and reduce churn.
Mehta said in a press release announcing the deal: “Reaching unicorn status and working with Vista is validation of how far the customer success community has come over the last seven years and how important our work is to the growth and financial strength of some of the world’s leading businesses.
“I could not be more excited to partner with the Vista team to drive more innovation, more impact and continued success for the community as a whole.”
The company has raised $157m in funding, $20m coming in a 2013 series B round led by Bain Capital Ventures that included Summit Partners, Battery Ventures and, reportedly, Salesforce subsidiary Salesforce Ventures.
Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) and Lightspeed Venture Partners added $25m in series C funding the following year, returning for a $50m series D led by Insight Partners and backed by Salesforce Ventures, Battery Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures and Summit Partners in 2015.
Gainsight’s most recent funding came in a $52m series E round in 2017 led by Lightspeed that also featured Salesforce Ventures, Cisco unit Cisco Investments, Battery Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, BVP and Insight Partners.
