No-Code App Builder Adalo Closes Tiger Global-Led Series A

St. Louis-based Adalo locked up an $8 million Series A led by Tiger Global to help grow its no-code app builder platform.

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Other investors in the round included Wade Foster of Zapier, Jason Warner of GitHub, Ben Tossell of Makerpad, and Oceans Ventures and OldSlip Group. Founded in 2018, the company has raised $9.7 million to date.

Adalo’s platform allows anyone to build their own app — with no knowledge of coding needed. The company launched the platform in late 2019 and now has more than 1,000 paying customers — ranging in size from startups to enterprise — and more than 220,000 users on the platform.

Co-founder and CEO David Adkin said he believes there will be an explosion of custom apps in the near future, similar to what happened a decade ago with everyone building their own websites thanks to companies like Webflow and Squarespace.

“The no-code space is really hot right now,” Adkin said. “What happened with websites 10 years ago is happening with applications and software now.”

Improving business

While Adalo started out selling to smaller businesses, Adkin said now even larger companies with their own software teams use the platform to quickly build apps; normally internal or external communication apps to help replace older tools such as documents and emails.

“Every business today has processes that would be better served if there was software for it,” Adkin said.

The company plans on using the new funding to add to its 20-person staff — possibly getting to 60 in 12 to 18 months, Adkin said. The company also will add new features and content to its platform and create an “academy” to help users through the app development process.

While there are low-code options to build applications such as Appian and Retool, as well as more templated platforms like Appy Pie, Adalo differentiates itself by trying to allow users to build simple, but powerful apps, Adkin said.

Foster, founder and CEO of Zapier and an investor, said he loves that vision.

“How many people have an idea or problem that they’d love to build an app for but can’t because it means learning to code?” he added. “Adalo gives the power of the 1 percent who can code to the 99 percent who wish they could.”

Illustration: Li-Anne Dias.