Startup Rippling Raises $500 Million In Funds After SVB Fails
The deal came together in about 12 hours after Rippling went scrambling when it couldn’t get $300 million that was frozen at SVB when it collapsed on Friday, according to Rippling co-founder Parker Conrad.
(Bloomberg) -- Rippling has raised $500 million at a valuation of $11.25 billion, after one of its venture-capital backers rushed to shore up the workforce-management software provider following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
The emergency round facilitated by Greenoaks Capital gives Rippling the same valuation it fetched in a fundraising last year, despite a market correction that’s prevented most startups from raising money at favorable terms.
The deal came together in about 12 hours after Rippling went scrambling when it couldn’t get $300 million that was frozen at SVB when it collapsed on Friday, according to Rippling co-founder Parker Conrad.
“I was able to make a few phone calls and get a handshake deal with Greenoaks,” he said in an interview. “We had to close over the weekend and we had to wire first thing Monday morning.”
Rippling was to facilitate payroll for many of its clients the day SVB was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., he said. With its money locked up at the bank, Rippling fronted $130 million it had on hand to its customers, hoping that it would recover most of that. That prospect now looks good after the government guaranteed all deposits at SVB.
With the additional funding, Rippling will now have almost $1 billion in unused cash on its balance sheet, Conrad said.
Neil Mehta, managing partner at Greenoaks Capital, said he had no problem wiring the emergency funding because he’s been impressed with Rippling’s growth and thinks it will continue. He likes that Rippling has built a comprehensive software platform — it includes products like employee onboarding and global compliance.
He’s also a big fan of Conrad’s, who resigned from corporate software startup Zenefits amid accusations of skirting regulations and ultimately settled with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
“I would shout from the rooftop that this is a person who operates with high integrity,” Mehta said.
Rippling’s existing investors include Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia Capital, Coatue Management and Founders Fund.
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