Go-to-market intelligence startup, Apollo.io, secured $100 million in their Series D funding round at a post-money valuation of $1.6 billion, minting them as a unicorn. The round was led by Bain Capital Ventures with participation from existing investors, including Sequoia Capital, Tribe Capital, and Nexus Venture Partners. The latest round brings the startup's total funding to over $250 million.
The company has witnessed over 900% revenue growth over the past two years and currently supports more than 3 million go-to-market professionals, across over 500,000 organizations. The new funds are earmarked for doubling the workforce as Apollo.io aims to further innovate its offerings.
The sales landscape is increasingly complex, with sales teams juggling an average of ten tools to finalize deals, according to Salesforce’s 2022 State of Sales Report. Apollo.io aims to simplify this by offering an all-in-one platform that combines sales intelligence, engagement, and execution workflows. Built on its proprietary B2B buyer database, their platform leverages AI to guide go-to-market strategies, helping teams generate leads, close deals, and enhance performance.
“In line with our mission to make world-class, go-to-market solutions simple and accessible, we have experienced unprecedented product-led growth during a time of economic uncertainty,” said Tim Zheng, Co-Founder and CEO at Apollo. “Our investors, led by Bain Capital Ventures, bring a new level of sophistication to the table that will accelerate Apollo.io’s journey from startup to scaleup. We look forward to expanding our offering for sales professionals to effectively target, engage, and convert buyers into long-lasting customers.”
Apollo.io has garnered the trust of some of the world’s largest enterprises, and it currently holds the top rank for Sales Intelligence and Sales Engagement solutions on G2. The platform empowers sales professionals to efficiently identify and prioritize prospects who are in active buying modes.
“Tim and the Apollo team have built a remarkable B2B platform that we believe will redefine the next generation of go-to-market sales,” said Merritt Hummer, Partner at Bain Capital Ventures. “Once companies experience Apollo’s buyer database coupled with powerful automation tools for lead generation and beyond, they’re hooked. We see the company providing the foundation for GTM teams everywhere in the future, driving direct sales at an unprecedented scale.”
The company has recently attracted top-tier tech talent, including Leandra Fishman as Chief Revenue Officer, Dzmitry Markovich as SVP of Engineering, and Shek Viswanathan as Chief Product Officer. With a current headcount of 450 employees across 30 countries, Apollo.io aims to expand its team to 1,000 by 2025 (increase of 122%).
"Apollo.io has built the ideal unified go-to-market platform, from data to engagement to deal execution and forecasting. They're in a fabulous position to combine Generative AI with their B2B buyer database to optimize and ultimately re-invent sales software," commented Sonya Huang, Partner at Sequoia Capital.
"It has been a privilege for us to be part of Apollo.io’s journey since inception and see them disrupt the sales-tech space," added Abhishek Sharma, Managing Director at Nexus Venture Partners. "Apollo.io is democratizing access to intelligent go-to-market software globally. It’s becoming one of the most ubiquitously used platforms across categories. Apollo.io’s intuitive self-serve product along with user-friendly pricing has helped expand its reach beyond sales professionals and tech businesses. We love the Apollo.io team’s obsession with delighting users and maximizing consumer surplus. The new round will help the company further invest in R&D and make its product even more powerful.”
