Indian SaaS Unicorn Freshworks To Tap Overseas Markets With NASDAQ Listing

California and Chennai-based customer engagement software maker Freshworks is preparing to tap the global markets by listing on the American tech exchange NASDAQ, The Times of India reported.

Freshworks, which bagged the unicorn tag after raising $100 million in a fresh round of funding co-led by Sequoia Capital and Accel in July last year, is expected to launch its initial public offering (IPO) as early as 2021.

In the run-up to IPO, the company’s co-founder Girish Mathrubootham has relocated to US headquarters in California. He now spends most of his time in the US to get to know the consumers and other stakeholders better, the report said citing a source.

Apart from creating brand awareness, the company has also stepped up hiring in the US. In May, the company also advertised for a ‘Senior Mgr, SEC Reporting’, the report said. The person-in-charge will be responsible for preparation forms such as Form S-1, a document used by companies going public in the US markets.

Last year, the company had also hired former AppDynamics vice president of finance & treasury Suresh Seshadri as its chief financial officer.

Meanwhile, the SaaS startup had attained a valuation of $1.5 billion in the last funding round, which also saw participation from CapitalG, bringing the total amount of capital raised to $250 million since inception in 2010.

Sequoia and Accel first backed Freshworks with $55 million funding in 2016. The company had raised $50 million from Tiger Global Management in April 2015.

The IPO would pave the way for an exit for a couple of existing investors.

Freshworks has offices in India, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia, and counts NHS, Honda, Rightmove, Hugo Boss, and Citizens Advice among its clients. The company’s products include Freshdesk, Freshservice, Freshsales, Freshcaller, Freshteam, Freshchat and Freshmarketer.