Linear raises $82M in series C funding at $1.25B valuation to challenge Atlassian

Enterprise software startup Linear has raised an $82 million Series C funding round, valuing the startup at $1.25 billion, the company said on Tuesday. Venture capital fund Accel led the round, with participation from existing investors 01A and Sequoia, and new investors Seven Seven Six and Designer Fund.

“Today, I’m happy to share that we’ve raised an $82M Series C at a $1.25B valuation. The round includes both primary and secondary funding, led by Accel with continued support from Sequoia and 01A, and joined by new partners Seven Seven Six, Designer Fund, Indie.vc, TK Ventures, Soleio, Jeff Weinstein and Laura & Vlad Loktev,” CEO Karri Saarinen said in a blog post.

Linear makes software development and project planning tools that compete directly with Atlassian’s Jira. The startup has seen impressive growth, with profits jumping 280% last year and a customer base that now includes over 15,000 companies, Reuters reported. Some of their most notable clients include hot AI companies like OpenAI, Scale AI, and Perplexity.

The 80-person, remote-first company plans to use the fresh capital to build more products and win over larger enterprise customers. “This will allow teams and individuals to utilize agents day to day and in parallel with their own work,” Saarinen said.

What sets Linear apart from competitors is its focus on specific product development use cases rather than offering overwhelming customization options that can confuse users.

The company has built specific features for common software development workflows. This includes a built-in “triage inbox” for handling software bugs and feature requests, plus tools for managing software development cycles called sprints. Linear has also developed functionality for managing AI as a team member, allowing humans and AI to collaborate on building software – something that’s becoming increasingly common in the industry.

Linear’s approach puts customer needs before flashy technology, which investor Miles Clements from Accel believes has been forgotten during the current AI boom. “There are a lot of vendors that are pushing a lot of unwanted AI slop into the market, and the Linear team instead is clued into what users are looking for and then providing them something they want,” he said.

Its customer-first philosophy appears to be paying off as Linear continues to grow in a competitive market dominated by established players like Atlassian. The company’s ability to attract high-profile AI companies as customers while maintaining strong profit growth suggests there’s real demand for their streamlined approach to project management tools.