Zluri, a SaaS Startup, Engages in Series B Funding Discussions to Raise $15-20 Million

• ByStartupStory     |    May 27, 2023

Zluri, an operations management platform, is currently in discussions to secure approximately $15-20 million in its Series B funding round. This funding round stands out as a unique mid-stage software-as-a-service (SaaS) deal, especially amidst the prevailing funding challenges in the industry.

According to anonymous sources familiar with the matter, the upcoming funding round for Zluri is anticipated to be led by Eight Roads Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners, the existing investor of Zluri. This round is expected to involve the participation of other current investors such as Kalaari Capital, MassMutual Ventures, and Endiya Partners.

As per the aforementioned sources, the SaaS startup intends to utilize the raised funds for customer expansion and market entry into various segments. Moneycontrol’s inquiries to Zluri, Eight Roads Ventures, MassMutual Ventures, and Lightspeed regarding this matter remained unanswered. Additionally, Endiya Partners chose not to provide any comment.

Zluri’s ongoing funding discussions occur in a period marked by challenging macroeconomic conditions caused by the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate increases and escalating inflation. This environment has put notable pressure on leading SaaS companies. Notably, companies like Freshworks and Chargebee have made cost-saving layoffs as a strategy to navigate these macro pressures successfully.

“There is of course a market slowdown but companies like Zluri are placed in a better position. They not just offer products for the US market but also for India and other South Asian markets for enterprise and SMB (small and medium business) clients,” said one of the people quoted above.

“Many companies are now cutting down their spends, especially SaaS spends and are looking for software that helps them in saving costs and manage their SaaS offerings better. That’s why Zluri is a mission-critical platform,” the person added.

Zluri, a company with headquarters in San Francisco and Bengaluru, was established in 2020 by co-founders Ritish Reddy Puttaparthi, Sethu Meenakshisundaram, and Chaithanya Yambari. Prior to joining forces to create Zluri, the three co-founders collaborated at Knolskape, a software company specializing in immersive gamification. Zluri offers an all-in-one solution that empowers IT teams in discovering, managing, securing, and ensuring compliance with multiple SaaS applications through a centralized dashboard.

Zluri provides users with a comprehensive solution for managing software application contracts and renewals. It offers features such as creating approval processes, analyzing data to optimize spending, and maximizing Return on Investment (ROI). The startup boasts a growing customer base that includes prominent SaaS companies like Chargebee, MoEngage, and Whatfix.

In January 2022, Zluri successfully secured $10 million in Series A funding from investors Kalaari Capital and Endiya Partners. Prior to that, during the seed stage funding in 2021, the company raised approximately $2 million from the same investors, Endiya Partners and Kalaari Capital. Zluri faces partial competition from companies like OneTool, BetterCloud, Torii, Blissfully, and Vendor.

If Zluri’s fundraising efforts are successful, it will be among the limited number of mid-stage (Series B and Series C) SaaS deals in 2023. This stands in contrast to the previous year, 2022, when mid-stage SaaS companies raised over $1.4 billion through 34 deals, as reported by Tracxn Technologies.

The SaaS sector emerged as a resilient and promising industry in 2021, surpassing the challenges faced by the overall startup ecosystem during the funding downturn of 2022. While the funding for the broader startup ecosystem experienced a significant 60 percent decline in 2022 compared to the previous year, SaaS companies witnessed a comparatively smaller drop of around 35 percent, according to data from Tracxn.

Since the beginning of 2023, the SaaS sector has experienced a substantial decline in funding, primarily due to challenging macroeconomic conditions. Tracxn data reveals that in the first five months of 2023, funding to SaaS platforms plummeted by 81 percent compared to the corresponding period in 2022.

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