French software startup Pigment raises $88M in funding led by ICONIQ Growth

Pigment, a French business planning software startup, has recently secured a substantial $88 million in funding to “redefine business planning” and take on the popular Microsoft Excel spreadsheet software.

This round, which brings Pigment’s total funding up to $248 million, was spearheaded by ICONIQ Growth.  Other backers in this round include venture capital firms Felix Capital, Meritech, and IVP, with FirstMark also participating.

Founded in 2019 by dual CEOs Eleonore Crespo and Romain Niccoli, Pigment is best known for its business planning and forecasting platform that’s designed to be more user-friendly than Microsoft Excel. Prior to Pigment, Eléonore Crespo was a former data analyst at Google and investor at Index Ventures, and Romain Niccoli was the former CTO and co-founder of Criteo. Pigment’s clients include the likes of Klarna, Miro, and Tommy Hilfiger owner PVH.

To further fuel its expansion in the United States and Canada, Pigment said it made strategic moves to bring aboard highly experienced leaders in crucial roles. One notable addition to our team is Sean Brophy, who has joined the company as the Global Head of Sales. Sean comes to us from Alteryx, where he played a pivotal role in leading their enterprise sales efforts and achieving impressive results. His expertise and track record in driving sales growth will be invaluable as we continue to establish ourselves in the market.

In a statement on its website, Sean Brophy, Pigment Global Head of Sales, said: “Our Series B+ announcement in September 2022 was a testament to the substantial investments we had already made in the US and Canada. However, we didn’t stop there; we have been continuously fueling our expansion efforts in a responsible manner. Today, our dedicated North America team consists of over 70 talented individuals, further solidifying our commitment to the region. We have also established a new office in Toronto, demonstrating our dedication to serving our North American customers.”

The primary users of Pigment’s tools are finance teams, who rely on them for financial planning and making informed business decisions. In addition to Microsoft, Pigment considers enterprise software tools offered by industry giants such as Google, SAP, and Oracle as direct competitors in the market.

In addition to the recent funding, Pigment has outlined its plans to allocate resources toward the development of AI products. They have recently introduced a new service called Pigment AI, leveraging the growing interest in AI and similar products like ChatGPT. This innovative service enables clients to extract valuable insights from data, identify patterns, and automate analysis and reporting processes.

Crespo stated that the company’s focus is not primarily on aggressively expanding its workforce. Instead, they aim to pursue sustainable growth strategies that align with investor expectations. With the prevailing pressure on businesses to achieve profitability rather than focusing solely on rapid expansion, Pigment intends to strike a balance and grow in a responsible and sustainable manner.

The latest funding follows a strong growth trajectory and product innovation for the company. Crespo said that, in 2022, the company grew its revenues by 600% and its total user base increased tenfold — and insisted it was well positioned to take on the behemoth incumbent Microsoft.

“We not only have users in the finance team but outside of finance, and that’s super interesting for investors to hear that we are not a finance platform but a business database that can serve any business leader out there from HR to sales to marketing, to R&D [research and development],” she said.

“We are here to sell [to] any business leader. And not only that, but they have heard from their portfolio companies that we managed to serve the most forward-looking companies out there.”

June 9 Correction: The article attributes the funding to the family office arm of ICONIQ Capital; however, the round was led by ICONIQ Growth, not the family office, and they are separate entities.