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Freshworks

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Freshworks Inc.
Company typePublic
Nasdaq: FRSH
Industry
Founded2010; 14 years ago (2010) in Chennai, India (as Freshdesk)
Founders
  • Girish Mathrubootham
  • Shan Krishnasamy
HeadquartersSan Mateo, California, United States
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
ProductsCustomer relationship management (CRM) and IT service management (ITSM) tools
ServicesOnline office suite, online business management tools
RevenueIncrease US$596 million (2023)
Negative increase US$−170 million (2023)
Negative increase US$−137 million (2023)
Total assetsIncrease US$1.46 billion (2023)
Total equityIncrease US$1.07 billion (2023)
Number of employees
4,900 (2023)
Websitefreshworks.com
Footnotes / references
[1]

Freshworks Inc. is a cloud-based software-as-a-service company, founded in 2010 in Chennai, India.[2][3] The company provides cloud-based tools for customer relationship management (CRM), IT service management (ITSM), and e-commerce marketing.

On September 22, 2021, Freshworks became the first Indian SaaS company to be listed on Nasdaq.[4] In its initial public offering, Freshworks raised $1.03 billion[4][5] following earlier funding rounds from venture capital firms such as Accel and Google's venture capital fund, CapitalG.[6][7]

History

[edit]

Freshworks was founded in 2010 by former Zoho employees Girish Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamy in Chennai, India, as Freshdesk.[8][9] The company moved their headquarters to San Mateo, California, in 2018.[4] The company focuses on developing cloud-based customer service software and has undergone multiple rounds of funding from investors such as Accel, Tiger Global Management, and Sequoia Capital.[10]

During its development, Freshworks acquired three other companies, 1CLICK.io, Konotor, and Frilp, in 2015.[11] In 2016, the company launched its second product, Freshsales, a customer relationship management (CRM) software.[12]

In 2017, Freshdesk officially changed its name to Freshworks Inc. This change was part of their strategy to become a multi-product company and avoid limiting their brand to just helpdesk solutions.[13] In 2018, the company achieved annual recurring revenue of over $100 million and launched a product suite called Freshworks 360.[14] In 2020 Zoho accused Freshworks of stealing Zoho's intellectual property, and the lawsuit was settled in 2021.[15]

The company's annual recurring revenue was reported as over $200 million in 2020, over $300 million in 2021, and $400 million in 2022.[16] In 2023, Freshworks set a goal of $1 billion total revenue by 2026.[17]

Freshworks disclosed that it acquired Device42, an American IT-management firm, for $230 million in May 2024. Also in May, Mathrubootham transitioned to the role of executive chairman, with Dennis Woodside succeeding him as CEO.[18][19]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2023 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 16, 2024.
  2. ^ "Salesforce rival Freshworks aims for nearly $9 bln valuation in U.S. IPO". Reuters. September 13, 2021. 13 September 2021. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  3. ^ RAJIV SINGH. "Accel India: Decoding Founders' Mentality To Spin Success". Forbes India. Jan 18, 2021. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  4. ^ a b c Anu Raghunathan (September 24, 2021). "Nasdaq Listing Of Freshworks Creates Windfall For Indian Founder And Hundreds Of Employees". Forbes.com. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  5. ^ "Freshworks will make good on its IPO success with an Olympics-style work ethos". Yahoo! Finance. September 23, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  6. ^ "Salesforce rival Freshworks aims for nearly $9 bln valuation in U.S. IPO". Reuters. September 13, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  7. ^ "Accel India: Decoding Founders' Mentality To Spin Success". Forbes India. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
  8. ^ Arakali, Harichandran (March 11, 2021). "Girish Mathrubootham's billion-dollar dream for Freshworks". Forbes India.
  9. ^ "Freshworks IPO: More than 500 employees become crorepatis". The Indian Express. September 23, 2021.
  10. ^ Nishant, Niket (22 September 2021). "Freshworks' share price surges 21% over IPO, market cap at $12.2 billion". Economic Times. Sep 22, 2021, 11:35 PM. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  11. ^ SNEHA BANERJEE (18 October 2016). "Freshdesk's 6th acquisition is an AI-based Chatbot Platform". Entrepreneur. OCT 18, 2016. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  12. ^ Suparna Dutt DCunha (2 June 2021). "Company Close-up: A Fresh Start To Customer Engagement". Martechvibe. June 2, 2021. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  13. ^ "The Freshworks Story - Why we rebranded our company". Thoughts on Refreshing Business Software. 2017-06-06. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
  14. ^ Aparajitha Nair. "Freshworks' Journey From A Single Product To Taking On The SaaS Giants". dutchuncles. May 17, 2021. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  15. ^ Aparajitha Nair. "Rapprochement. Freshworks and Zoho reach settlement to end litigation". hindubusiness. December 24, 2021. Retrieved 2024-05-23.
  16. ^ Gauri (30 August 2021). "IPO time: Innovative company Freshworks files for USD 100 million IPO". Inventiva. August 30, 2021. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  17. ^ DeFrancesco, Robert. "Freshworks Looks To Gain Market Share In IT Service Management". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
  18. ^ Singh, Manish (May 2, 2024). "Freshworks acquires Device42 for $230M, appoints Dennis Woodside as new CEO". TechCrunch.
  19. ^ "Freshworks names Dennis Woodside as CEO, shares tumble". Reuters. May 1, 2024.
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