Freshworks Inc, an Indian-based maker of enterprise software, was valued at $12.2 billion in its Nasdaq debut on Wednesday after its shares rose 21% above the initial offer price, suggesting strong demand for companies that thrived during the pandemic.
The Salesforce.com rival opened with shares priced at $43.50 compared to the IPO price of $36 a share. Freshworks is part of a wave of tech listings this week as the tech company predicts strong demand from customers who are adjusting to the hybrid work model.
Founded in Chennai, Freshworks has a range of products that support customer management companies, including a messaging platform and an artificial intelligence chatbot specifically designed for customer service.
The listing is also a cause for celebration in the Indian tech community, which sees Freshworks as the first domestic software as a service (SaaS) tech firm to go public in the U.S.
Founded by Girish Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamy, Freshworks raised its first round of funding in 2011 and also won its first client, Atwell College in Australia in 2011. Backers include Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global Management.
Headquartered in <meta charset=”utf-8″>San Mateo, California, Freshworks said its customers include more than 50,000 companies, with high-profile names such as Delivery Hero SE, Swedish payment service provider Klarna and Cisco Systems.
On Tuesday night, the tech company priced its IPO at the top end, raising $1.03 billion.
For more information, read the original story in Reuters.