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UiPath, a robotic process automation (RPA) platform that helps companies automate repetitive tasks, has raised a whopping $225 million in a series C round of funding co-led by Alphabet’s late-stage venture capital (VC) fund CapitalG and Sequoia Capital, with participation from Accel.
This latest round comes just six months after UiPath raised $153 million in its series B round, and the company has now raised north of $400 million since it was founded in 2012.
Additionally, UiPath said its valuation is now pegged at $3 billion, up nearly $2 billion since its series B round valuation in March.
Automation
UiPath was founded out of Romania, though it is now officially headquartered in New York. The platform’s core selling point is that it brings automation to enterprise processes. It builds what it calls “intelligent software robots” that help businesses carry out what are often laborious and repetitive tasks using computer vision and rule-based processes.
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Above: UiPath Studio
The technology sits atop business applications such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and customer relationship management (CRM) tools to emulate tasks usually carried out by a person manually pressing buttons at their desk. These “robots” are trained to observe the interface to see and understand what is happening and then carry out the task as a human would.
As with all machine learning applications today, the ultimate promise here is that it will improve accuracy and productivity, allowing human employees to focus on other areas of work. Or, as a more cynical person might conclude, put humans out of work.
“We are enabling a future where employees at every organization are empowered to automate tedious and time-consuming work, enabling them to focus on creative, challenging problems,” UiPath cofounder and CEO Daniel Dines said.
Growth
UiPath claims some big-name clients already, including NASA, Airbus, HP, DHL, Equifax, Lufthansa, Autodesk, and nearly 2,000 other companies around the world. Without giving specific numbers, UiPath said it expects its annual recurring revenue (ARR) to increase 400 percent by the end of this year, compared to 2017, and it anticipates its employee headcount will grow 300 percent to 1,700 across 16 countries.
With another $225 million in the bank, UiPath plans to accelerate its product development, build out its partnerships, and acquire more companies. The company made a rare acquisition earlier this year when it snapped up a software platform belonging to Cluj-based smart data company Recognos, but UiPath hasn’t made any other known acquisitions in the past.
“We strongly believe that RPA is a primary route for organizations to benefit from AI, and UiPath is proving this potential with its unparalleled growth and incredible customer impact,” added CapitalG partner Laela Sturdy.
