Brazilian SaaS Startup Omie Raises $20M Series B

Omie, a Brazilian startup focused on providing SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses) with a business management platform, has closed on a $20 million Series B.

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Menlo Park-based Riverwood Capital was the sole investor in the round, which takes Sao Paulo-based Omie’s total raised in its lifetime to around $27 million. Brazilian venture firm Astella put $7 million into the company last September.

Joe de Pinho, vice president at Riverwood, said the five-year-old firm is similar to QuickBooks in that it provides a cloud-based, AI-powered SaaS platform that caters to the small business owner. The goal is to help SMBs manage their daily operations with functions such as invoicing, inventory management, accounts receivable and accounts payables. It also assists with CRM (customer relationship management), point-of-sales services, stock management, working capital management and financial services.

Omie launched its go-to-market through a partnership-based distribution channel via accounting firms.

“With our offering, we help solve the biggest operational pain points Brazilian companies face as they grow, in almost any segment,” said Marcelo Lombardo, founder and CEO of Omie, in a written statement. It’s a large market as there’s an estimated 2.7 million SMBs in Brazil, according to the company.

“We have shown accountants that together we can drive the digital transformation of Brazilian SMBs, making them more competitive and integrated,” he added. “This brings efficiency to the entire ecosystem.”

Omie is certainly growing, notching $7.3 million in revenue in 2018 compared to $4.3 million in 2017. Its headcount has climbed to 215 employees out of its headquarters compared to 38 in December of 2017. (The company notes that the current number doesn’t include the staff employed by its franchises.)

Omie will use the latest funding to focus on continued development of its products and strengthening its direct sales and franchise model, through which it expects to have a local presence in all Brazilian metropolitan centers. It also plans to “advance innovations” in its financial services offering in addition to continue hiring (it currently has more than 100 open positions.)

“We were impressed with Omie’s leadership and execution,” said de Pinho, who will join Omie’s board. “Plus, we simply felt they had the best product out there to serve this massive market, in terms of what they offer and how they run their business.”

For its part, Riverwood has invested in numerous Latin American companies over the years, including Brazilian ride-sharing startup 99 and Mandic, among others.