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, which has developed open source workflow automation software, has raised a 鈧�25 million (approximately US$28.4 million based on recent exchange rate) Series A round led by Switzerland鈥檚 .

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Camunda claims that its software can help companies have 鈥渧isibility into business operations across distributed systems,鈥� helping companies 鈥渙vercome [workflow] challenges resulting from digital transformation.鈥�

The financing marks the first outside investment for the previously bootstrapped Berlin-based startup, CEO and co-founder told 小蓝视频色情网页版 News.

In fact, the company was reluctant to raise VC money at all, managing to be profitable while steadily grow on its own, the executive said.

鈥淲e actually never pitched to VCs. Over the years, we鈥檝e been contacted by close to 100 venture firms reaching out in cold fashion due to our size and velocity,鈥� Freund said. 鈥淏ut we simply built a relationship and trust with Highland Europe. When it came to choosing a [venture] partner, we were looking for a mix of smart, ambitious, and extensive network, but also a firm that was friendly and humble too. We didn鈥檛 find that with many other VCs.鈥�

From Straps To Cash

Camunda was originally founded in 2008 as a consulting business focused on business process management. Freund and his partner, , worked to help organizations automate their business process management (BPM) with open source technology.

鈥淚n the first five years, we learned a lot about the business process industry and the products,鈥� he said. 鈥淎 lot of the larger companies鈥� offerings were pretty heavyweight and not really geared toward developers.鈥� (By larger companies, Freund meant the likes of and )

So, in 2013, the pair pivoted and decided to transition the company into an open source BPM software vendor business. It was profitable from day one, according to Freund. Today, Camunda has more than 200 paid enterprise customers鈥攊ncluding , , , Universal Music Group, and鈥攖hat use its platform to perform functions such as eCommerce order executions, stock transactions, and insurance claim settlements.聽 聽 聽聽

Camunda also has thousands of open-source users that come from a variety of industries, including financial services, telecommunications and insurance, as well as software companies seeking to embed Camunda鈥檚 workflow technology, according to the company.

Camunda鈥檚 annual recurring revenue (ARR) has more than doubled over the past 12 months and the staff has grown to more than 100 people compared to 13 in 2013, Freund said.

The company decided to raise external capital because it wants to accelerate the development of its technology and 鈥渋nvest heavily in community,鈥� according to Freund. It also wants to expand in the U.S.. It already has a second office in Denver but has plans to open more offices in the country, as well as certain cities in Europe and Asia-Pacific.

, partner with Highland Europe, told me that his firm had been knocking on Camunda鈥檚 door for about two years trying to convince the company to take its capital.

鈥淐amunda鈥檚 momentum and growth without bringing in capital is really exceptional,鈥� he said.

Brooks described Highland Europe as growth-stage investors that only put money in businesses with more than $10 million in revenue that are growing quickly and are, preferably, capital efficient.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been quite interested in this market and spent time with some of the other businesses. We kept hearing great things from our portfolio companies that are customers, and we like that Camunda is viewed as developer-first,鈥� he said. 鈥淒evelopers are some of the hardest people to sell software to. We were incredibly impressed.鈥�

In general, the global workflow automation market is expected to reach nearly $17 billion by 2023, up from $4.7 billion in 2017, according a recent Meanwhile, investors continue to pump money into open source software companies, as you can see in the chart below.

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