On April 7, 2020, Utah-based SaaS start-up Podium announced that it has closed a $125 million Series C led by Y Combinator’s Continuity fund, with participation from Sapphire Ventures and Alkeon, and Recruit Co. Ltd. Prior investors IVP, GV, Summit, and Accel also took part in the funding event. The new capital values Podium at around $1.5 billion, and brings the company’s known capital raised to just under $218 million. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati represented Podium in the transaction.
Notably, the venture round wasn’t put together back in Q4 2019 only to be announced now. Instead, according to Podium CEO Eric Rea, discussions began in mid-February, resulting in multiple term sheets. The start-up signed the winning term sheet toward the end of the month, and both YC and Sapphire followed through with the money. This Podium financing round, then, is one of the last put together before disruptions stemming from COVID-19 shook the domestic economy and stock market.
Podium's software service provides messaging tools for small businesses. More recently, the company has expanded into payments, allowing its customer base to more quickly accept payment for goods and services.
The Wilson Sonsini team that represented Podium in the transaction includes Rezwan Pavri, Bob Day, and Lester Ang.
For more information, please see this TechCrunch article covering the transaction.