Apollo.io Is Valued at $1.6 Billion in Sales Tech Financing

Katie Roof, Bloomberg News

Fiber optic cables feed into a switch inside a communications room at an office in London, U.K., on Monday, May 21, 2018. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport will work with the Home Office to publish a white paper later this year setting out legislation, according to a statement, which will also seek to force tech giants to reveal how they target abusive and illegal online material posted by users. Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Sales technology platform Apollo.io says it has raised $100 million in new financing at a $1.6 billion valuation.

The technology company says it has received an investment led by Bain Capital Ventures, with participation from existing investors including Sequoia Capital, Tribe Capital and Nexus Venture Partners at a higher valuation than before. The company was valued last year at about $900 million after a $110 million funding round, it said.

Apollo.io says it has more than 500,000 companies and millions of users of its platform for sales and marketing workflow tools. Its customers include payments platform Stripe Inc., e-signature company DocuSign Inc. and the National Basketball Association’s Utah Jazz, according to the company’s website.

Its platform organizes customer data with the goal of helping its users close more sales. Apollo.io says it is now using artificial intelligence to tailor email messaging.

Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Tim Zheng said that its products “automate a lot of the boring stuff that otherwise needs to be done by hand.” He said an initial public offering is a “long-term goal” for the company.

At a time when many companies have struggled to raise capital at higher valuations, Bain Capital Ventures partner Merritt Hummer said that Apollo.io’s track record was appealing to investors, even amid the tech downturn.

“We really think of Apollo as the poster child for efficient growth,” she said. “It’s really in a class of its own of being able to justify an up round in this environment.”

While formally based in San Francisco, Apollo.io defines itself as a “remote-first” company. It has 450 employees across 30 countries.