Xero which provides online accounting software for SMEs said that the new funds come from Accel Partners and Matrix Capital Management, its largest institutional investor. Accel is providing the lion’s share of capital in the deal which is expected to close by the middle of March 2015.
The money will be used to grow the company’s business in the U.S. and the growth plans also see Russell Fujioka, formerly of Dell and a current partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, taking on the role of U.S. President, based out of Xero’s San Francisco office. In addition, former Salesforce CFO Graham Smith has joined the Xero board as a non-executive director.
Accel partner Andrew Braccia believes that Xero, which claims to have more than 400,000 SMEs using its service has what it takes to compete in what is now a crowded accounting software market.
Accel always looks for enduring technologies with global reach and we see the need and opportunity for millions of small businesses to grow on Xero’s platform. We’ve worked with several other leading companies in the region to broaden their global reach and we hope this experience will be valuable as Xero’s strong leadership team looks to expand in the United States.
Prior to today, Xero had raised over $240 million from investors. Its most recent round was $150 million in October 2013, led by Peter Thiel-backed Valar Ventures and Matrix Partners.
