When celonis,he German process mining company announced an increase in $1 billion in August at a post-money valuation of $13,2 billion, it was a bit shocking. After all, VC firms were moving away from the huge raises and flashy valuations of yore.
However celonis — which has raised $2.4 billion in the past year — has been able to challenge current thinking in startup circles by taking on massive amounts of capital.
Consider that its valuation has grown a mind-boggling 420% since 2019, when it grossed $290 million at a valuation of $2.5 billion. That was followed last year with $1 billion at an $11 billion valuation, culminating in August's $13 billion valuation.
Part of the reason it's such a valuable venture is that, along the way, has forged partnerships with corporate giants like IBM and ServiceNow to sell its software, helping push Celonis into markets where even well-funded startups can be constrained by resource requirements.
Why are clients, investors and partners so interested in Celonis?
Because celonis, through the use of software, can delve into the way processes move in a company, looking at complex areas like procurement, bill pay, and inventory and looking for inefficiencies and duplications that can ultimately add up to big savings.
This is the kind of work that high-priced consultants have tended to do, camping out inside companies for months or years and figuring out how work flows through the organization while collecting fat checks to do it. Having software that can replace those human efficiency experts, and in a relatively short time, is a huge advantage.
