Freshworks becomes first Indian SaaS startup to list on Nasdaq after billion-dollar IPO
Thursday, 23 September 2021, 11:10 IST
Freshworks Inc., the first Indian software maker to list on Nasdaq, raised over $1.03 billion in its Initial Public Offering (IPO) while recording market capitalisation of $10.13 billion.
“I feel like an Indian athlete who has won a gold medal at the Olympics,” said Girish Mathrubootham, co-founder and CEO at Freshworks, before ringing the opening bell at Nasdaq.
The startup sold 28.5 million shares at $36 a piece, up from a marketed range of $32-34 it announced earlier this week. Freshwork’s share price surged as much as 33 per cent to $48 in initial trade on the Nasdaq.
Mathrubootham linked Freshwork’s Nasdaq listing to “the Roger Bannister moment… and then in the immediate year after, you had so many other athletes that did it,” the exultant said. Bannister was the first athlete to run a mile under four minutes. “I see this moment of Freshworks as the equivalent of that,” he added.
The San Mateo California based startup was founded in Chennai in 2010. Freshworks joins over a dozen Indian companies to trade on the US stock exchanges.
Terming Freshwork’s listing as “day zero all over again” for, Mathrubootham said that the company was looking at a massive $120 billion market opportunity for its products to grow and scale its business.
Mathrubootham said, “More than 500 employees in India will be crorepatis, and 69 of them are under the age of 30.”
“It’s going to stiffen the spine and provide immense belief that we can build very large $10 billion-plus companies from India by building products in India for the world,” said Mohit Bhatnagar, managing director at Sequoia Capital, which has invested in Freshworks.
Earlier in December 2011, the company raised its first $1 million in funding from Accel Partners. Later it raised $100 million from Accel and Sequoia and became the country’s first SaaS firm to be valued at over $1 billion.
Freshworks is also the latest to join venture-funded companies in India that are diversifying beyond private markets on the back of a successful domestic listing by food technology platform Zomato Ltd. in July.
“I feel like an Indian athlete who has won a gold medal at the Olympics,” said Girish Mathrubootham, co-founder and CEO at Freshworks, before ringing the opening bell at Nasdaq.
The startup sold 28.5 million shares at $36 a piece, up from a marketed range of $32-34 it announced earlier this week. Freshwork’s share price surged as much as 33 per cent to $48 in initial trade on the Nasdaq.
Mathrubootham linked Freshwork’s Nasdaq listing to “the Roger Bannister moment… and then in the immediate year after, you had so many other athletes that did it,” the exultant said. Bannister was the first athlete to run a mile under four minutes. “I see this moment of Freshworks as the equivalent of that,” he added.
The San Mateo California based startup was founded in Chennai in 2010. Freshworks joins over a dozen Indian companies to trade on the US stock exchanges.
Terming Freshwork’s listing as “day zero all over again” for, Mathrubootham said that the company was looking at a massive $120 billion market opportunity for its products to grow and scale its business.
Mathrubootham said, “More than 500 employees in India will be crorepatis, and 69 of them are under the age of 30.”
“It’s going to stiffen the spine and provide immense belief that we can build very large $10 billion-plus companies from India by building products in India for the world,” said Mohit Bhatnagar, managing director at Sequoia Capital, which has invested in Freshworks.
Earlier in December 2011, the company raised its first $1 million in funding from Accel Partners. Later it raised $100 million from Accel and Sequoia and became the country’s first SaaS firm to be valued at over $1 billion.
Freshworks is also the latest to join venture-funded companies in India that are diversifying beyond private markets on the back of a successful domestic listing by food technology platform Zomato Ltd. in July.
.jpg "Innovating Legal Solutions to Safeguard your Business")
