US VC Insight Partners invests in $95 million round for SafetyCulture at $2.1 billion valuation

US-based venture capital firm Insight Partners has led a US$73 million (A$95m) investment into workplace safety venture that nearly doubles the value of the startup to US$1.6bn (A$2.1bn).

The deal comes just a fortnight after Insight was the sole backer of Brisbane software startup Octopus Deploy in a US$172.5 million (A$220m) round. 

Existing invest Tiger Global, Index Ventures and Blackbird Ventures were part of the latest round.

SafetyCulture’s last raise in October 2020 – $48.6 million just since six months after a $60.5 million round last April – valued at more than $1.3 billion, but less than a third of those funds, $14 million, were invested as equity. Blackbird led that round followed Index, scooping up existing equity from other investors.

The business recently surpassed 100 million completed inspections on its flagship product, iAuditor, which is now used by  around 75,000 people daily to complete daily Covid-19 inspections.

SafetyCulture now has 1.5 million users in 85 countries signed up to the platform. This year marks a decade since the iAuditor app was first launched. It’s a workplace checklist for smartphone to help keep people safe on the job.

In a company blog post announcing the funding, Anear said it had been a big year, but they were only just getting started and the new funds will help them continue that momentum.

“It also allows us to invest in the development of our platform which will ensure the information captured by workers can easily be acted upon to improve quality, efficiency, and safety in the workplace,” he said

“Strategic growth investments and acquisitions will remain a key focus. Following the acquisition of online microlearning app, EdApp, last year, we’re looking at other great innovations which will transform the experience for millions of working teams around the world.”

Teddie Wardi, Managing Director at Insight Partners, said: “SafetyCulture’s growth is testament to the company’s deep understanding of the challenges working teams face in distributed work environments and their ability to consistently deliver innovative solutions to help these businesses improve every day.”

SafetyCulture’s staffing has grown by 2.5 times in the last three years and the business is building a $38 millionthe 4,200 square metre office Sydney HQ with the capacity for 30% more staff. It’s due to be completed by mid-2021.

This latest investment by Insight Partners adds to the New York VC’s growing portfolio of Australian ventures, which also includes Melbourne’s Linktree, Sydney’s Campaign Monitor and online retailer MySale.