Optimizely, a US-based developer of optimisation tools for websites, received $58m in series C funding yesterday from investors including cloud computing company Salesforce and financial services firm Citigroup.
Salesforce and Citigroup invested through their respective corporate venturing arms, Salesforce Ventures and Citi Ventures. Index Ventures led the round, which also included Andreessen Horowitz, Battery Ventures, Benchmark Capital, Correlation Ventures, Danhua Capital, Pharus Capital Management, Bain Capital Ventures and Tenaya Capital.
Founded in 2010, Optimizely’s platform helps developers A/B test their websites and apps, and provide a personalised experience to users. The technology is used by companies such as news broadcaster CNN, software provider Microsoft and airline Virgin America.
The money will go towards further development of Optimizely’s product offering and the sealing of additional partnership agreements. Ilya Fushman, general partner at Index Ventures, will join Optimizely’s board of directors in cojunction with the series C investment.
Optimizely previously closed a $57m series B round in May 2014 led by Andreesen Horowitz that also featured Bain Capital Ventures and Benchmark Ventures.
Google Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of online technology provider Alphabet, backed a $28m series A round for the company in 2013 that was led by Benchmark and backed by Bain Capital Ventures, Battery Ventures and Interwest Partners.
Google Ventures, Battery and Interwest had already funded Optimizely’s $2m seed round in 2012, which followed a $1.2m angel round in 2010 featuring a range of private investors.