Steadview Capital invests in spa and salon software provider Zenoti

By Narinder Kapur

  • 22 Aug 2019
Credit: 123RF.com

Zenoti, a software provider to salons and spas, has raised $20 million (approximately Rs 143.38 crore at current exchange rates) in a round of funding from alternative asset management firm Steadview Capital.

The company will use the funds for expansion in the United Kingdom and enhance its global marketing, Zenoti said in a statement on Thursday.

The investment comes just four months after Zenoti raised $50 million (around Rs 350 crore) in its Series C funding round led by Tiger Global. Norwest Venture Partners and Accel had also participated in that round, with Avendus Capital acting as the sole financial advisor to the transaction.

Company chief executive officer Sudheer Koneru said the firm would accelerate the adoption of its platform and continue to grow through strategies, including expansion and acquisition. The company has raised more than $91 million till date, he added.

Separately, Steadview founder and managing director Ravi Mehta said the firm was confident in its investment considering Zenoti’s approach to addressing common problems for business owners in the beauty and wellness industry, with its platform being “miles ahead of the competition”.

The Seattle- and Hyderabad-based company also announced that it has hired technology industry veteran Guy Weismantel as its senior vice-president of marketing. An alumnus of the University of Notre Dame and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Weismantel has previously worked with companies such as Microsoft and Expedia, Pushpay and Marchex.

Zenoti, which is operated by Soham Inc., was founded in 2010 by Sudheer Koneru and his brother, Dheeraj Koneru. In 2015, the company raised $6 million in Series A funding from venture capital firm Accel and others. In 2016, the company secured $15 million from Norwest Venture Partners and Accel India.

The company says it provides services to clients in more than 50 countries, delivering solutions such as online appointment bookings, mobile check-ins and check-outs, customer relationship management and employee management, among others.

Steadview Capital

The investment firm makes long-term investments across several industries, with its investor pool including family offices, endowments, foundations, sovereign wealth funds and pension funds.

Last month, VCCircle reported that Steadview had appointed an Indian investment professional to advise on its local technology-related deals.

It has made several investments in Indian startups in recent months. In March, it invested more than $100 million in gaming startup Dream11. In January, Steadview Capital topped up its investment in ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd, which operates Ola.

In November last year, Steadview led a Series D investment of $50 million in home services marketplace UrbanClap.  In October 2018, it had invested $30 million in fintech startup INDwealth, which is led by Ashish Kashyap, who founded travel booking firm Ibibo Group.