Scout RFP, a US-based business services management app developer that counts internet and technology group Alphabet as an investor, closed a $15.5m series B round led by Menlo Ventures on Wednesday.
Menlo was joined by fellow venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA), which had previously provided $9m of series A funding for Scout RFP in August 2016. The round took the comopany’s overall funding to approximately $27.3m, it said.
Scout RFP has created a cloud-based platform that enables businesses to more efficiently source suppliers and analyse their respective offers in order to make more informed buying decisions.
The series B capital will help the company grow its engineering team as it looks speed up development of its sourcing platform and strengthen its international presence.
Alex Yakubovich, chief executive of Scout RFP, said: “Sourcing has long been seen through a purely operational lens, rather than as a function which can truly impact the bottom line.
“Scout is fundamentally shifting that misconception and delivering value to our customers by helping them to improve business outcomes and increase sourcing’s impact across the enterprise.”
Alphabet invested in Scout RFP through GV, the corporate venturing subsidiary then known as Google Ventures, in early 2015 as part of a $2.75m seed round that was led by NEA with participation from Zapis Capital and various angel investors.