[Funding alert] Digital workplace platform Saltmine raises $20M from JLL Spark, Jungle Ventures, others

Saltmine, an end-to-end digital workplace platform, on Wednesday said it has raised $20 million (about Rs 144.8 crore) in a funding round that saw participation from JLL Spark, the strategic investment arm of commercial real estate services firm JLL.

Existing investors, Singapore-based Jungle Ventures and Xplorer Capital also participated in the Series A round.

In addition to its capital investment, JLL has entered into an agreement to sell Saltmine's software directly to its customers, creating a powerful distribution channel for Saltmine's platform, a statement said.

Founded in 2017 by Indian-origin Shagufta Anurag, the workspace management platform has grown to have a global presence with offices in Asia, Europe and North America, with headquarters in San Francisco. It has more than 125 employees.

The company is now looking at expanding its client base in India, which remains a stable and attractive office-property market despite the COVID-19 setback last year, a statement said.

"With the new financing from the series A round, Saltmine will continue to invest in talent acquisition - with a focus on growing its sales, customer success, product and engineering team," it added.

The company aims to accelerate its growth in Asia-Pacific — particularly in markets like Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

"Real estate is the second-largest cost for companies and has a direct impact on their largest cost — their people. We're thrilled to have the support of our investors who are committed to the creation of great workplace experiences," Saltmine Founder and CEO Shagufta Anurag said.

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As organisations continue to mature in India, they are looking to now adopt world-class technology and processes to manage their workplace, she added.

"The pandemic has accelerated that trend, and we now believe the timing is right to further increase Saltmine's adoption in this market," she said.

Saltmine helps to enhance workplace collaboration, improve the employee experience, and reduce costs. Its platform houses all workplace data — including strategy, design, pricing, and portfolio analytics — in one place.

By combining real-time data aggregated from utilisation sensors and employee sentiment information, Saltmine's tool helps customers to optimise and make their workplace more agile and responsive to the changing employee needs and business goals.

To date, Saltmine's corporate clients include Workday, Fidelity, PG&E, and Snowflake.

In India, its portfolio includes Space Matrix, ANSR, and Northern Trust, among others.

Through partnerships with JLL and other major commercial real estate and design firms including Cushman & Wakefield, Newmark and Interior Architects, Saltmine has created an ecosystem built on network effects, and quickly established itself in a new category of enterprise cloud technology.

Saltmine also announced the appointment of Jim Baum onto its Board of Directors and Shawn Green as the company's Chief Revenue Officer.