This family office with tech billionaire clients backs French rival to Microsoft Excel

French concern readying bundle startup Pigment has raised $88 cardinal successful a backing circular led by ICONIQ, the backstage concern money that manages the wealth of tech billionaires specified arsenic Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey.

Pigment is champion known for its concern readying and forecasting level that's designed to beryllium much user-friendly than Microsoft's spreadsheet bundle Excel.

The company, co-founded and helmed by dual CEOs Eleonore Crespo and Romain Niccoli, told CNBC it planned to usage the backing to grow its scope successful the U.S. and artificial intelligence.

Venture superior firms Felix Capital, Meritech, IVP, and FirstMark besides participated successful the backing round.

Pigment counts the likes of Klarna, Miro and Tommy Hilfiger proprietor PVH arsenic its customers.

The company's tools are chiefly utilized by concern teams to program and marque fiscal and concern decisions. As good arsenic Microsoft, Pigment besides views endeavor bundle tools from giants similar Google, SAP and Oracle arsenic rivals.

Crespo said that, successful 2022, Pigment grew its revenues by 600% and its full idiosyncratic basal accrued tenfold — and insisted it was good positioned to vie with behemoth incumbent Microsoft.

"We not lone person users successful the concern squad but extracurricular of finance, and that's ace absorbing for investors to perceive that we are not a concern level but a concern database that tin service immoderate concern person retired determination from HR to income to marketing, to R&D [research and development]," she said.

"We are present to merchantability [to] immoderate concern leader. And not lone that, but they person heard from their portfolio companies that we managed to service the astir forward-looking companies retired there."

Pigment besides plans to usage the latest influx of wealth to put successful the improvement of AI products.

It introduced a caller work called Pigment AI past month, connected the heels of heightened buzz surrounding AI and products similar ChatGPT, which lets clients query data, place patterns and automate investigation and reporting.

Crespo said determination are nary plans to summation headcount substantially and Pigment was alternatively looking to turn successful a much sustainable way, fixed the unit from investors connected businesses to execute profitability successful favour of breakneck growth.