Workplace management platform deskbird has just raised about €5 million. The Swiss startup is bringing a people-centric approach to workplace management, empowering better approaches to hybrid working and is now planning European expansion.
Workplaces have changed quite a bit over the past couple of years. Now, the vast majority of offices and workplaces operate on a hybrid model, where staff spend some days working from the office and some days working from the place of their choosing. While this brings enhanced flexibility to staff and has been proven to boost team productivity and enjoyment, it can be difficult for businesses themselves to navigate. And for team members as well.
Deskbird is aiming to make it easy. The Swiss startup has developed a platform that is helping create flexible workplaces that run smoothly – and it’s growing fast.
The funding
Today, deskbird has announced the raise of €5 million in a Pre-Series A funding round. The startup has now raised about €6.5 million since its 2020 inception – making it one of Europe’s best-funded SaaS workplace startups.
This latest funding was led by Fortyone and Rivus Capital as well as existing investor session.vc.
Marcel Walker, CEO at Fortyone: “Team, timing and traction are right. We are looking forward to joining the journey and are convinced that, in addition to the financial capital provided, our know-how will contribute to deskbird’s rapid growth and the achievement of its ambitious targets.”
Simon Math, Partner at Rivus Capital: “We strongly believe in a hybrid working world. This allows companies not only to use workspace more efficiently, but also to create a modern working environment. It will only succeed with the ideal tech solution. In addition to deskbird’s strong growth and the excellent team that Ivan and Jonas have built, we were particularly convinced by the strong product and the broader vision for an investment.“
People-centric approach
The St Gallen-based startup takes a fresh approach to workplace management. It’s entirely people-centric and based around enhancing team connections, not just about managing the building. Via the app, employees can do more than just book resources in the office, as they can see who is in the office at a glance and easily schedule in-person meetings accordingly.
Further, workplace managers get full oversight of statistics like office occupancy and consumption at their fingertips, helping them to create a flexible workplace experience that works for the team as a whole. The data insights also help companies optimize office spending.
The young startup has developed the platform with a focus on user experience and also offers integrations with the most popular office resources, including the likes of MS Teams, Outlook, Google Calendar, Slack and so on. Deskbird can tailor its offering and comply with the complex IT security, legal, and data privacy requirements of enterprise customers.
Accelerating growth
Born just two years ago, deskbird is already proving to be one of the more popular solutions to navigate new ways of working. It currently helps to manage over 500 offices across 20 countries, from customers such as Schaeffler, Heineken, KFC, Knauf, Volksbank, and more. Deskbird plans to at least double its team to over 100 people by the end of next year.
The new funding will be used to accelerate growth across Europe and allow the team to further expand its product offering to meet the additional needs of its enterprise and mid-market customers.
Ivan Cossu, co-founder and CEO of deskbird: “With deskbird, we are shaping the new way of working and helping companies to create better flexible workplaces. We are excited to have our existing investor session.vc further backing us in the current round and new, experienced investors Fortyone and Rivus Capital joining our journey. With the additional capital, we will not only boost our growth to become Europe’s category-leading workplace solution, but also expand our platform around the workplace needs of our target customers.”
Jonas Hess, co-founder and CPO of deskbird added: “We are grateful for the exceptionally close collaboration with our clients, which allowed us to build a B2B product that is loved by both employees and managers. Thanks to this financing round, we will further push user engagement, functionality and integrations in existing workflows. As we are growing to over 100 people in the near future, one big challenge will be to find the very best talent in line with our culture.”
Philippe Bubb, Founding Partner of session.vc: “Spend five minutes with deskbird co-founders Ivan and Jonas and it’s impossible to walk away unmoved by the challenges companies face in managing an increasingly hybrid work model. Deskbird addresses these challenges, offering a modern, data-driven and people-centric workplace management platform. At session.vc, we have rarely seen a B2B SaaS company generating this much market traction in just one year, which is why we are thrilled to continue our support of the team.”
