Software maker Lessonly raises $170 million from venture capital

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- Software maker Lessonly said on Monday it raised $170 million in fresh capital at a valuation of $3 billion and will use part of the funds for acquisition of Seismic, a venture capital-backed online sales coaching platform.

The funding nearly doubles the valuation of Seismic, which makes software for sales teams, from its prior round late last year.

The latest Series G round saw participation from the investment firm Permira and JMI Equity, as well as from venture capital firms Lightspeed Venture Partners and Jackson Square Ventures.

Capital investment firm Ameriprise and funds and accounts, advised by investment management firm T Rowe Price also participated.

Seismic makes software that helps salespeople communicate with buyers more effectively and has nearly 2,000 customers including the likes of IBM Corp, Cisco Systems Inc and American Express Co.

The Seismic experienced a huge spike in usage on its platform last year with the onset of COVID - 19 an associated lockdown and associated layoffs coupled with a shift to a remote work culture.

Metrics also fast increased across the board, Chief Executive Officer Doug Winter told Reuters.

From February to March or April, all the metrics really took off and haven't fallen back down, Winter added.

The integration of Lessonly with Seismic, which is used by more than 1,200 companies including McAfee Corp and Dun Bradstreet Holdings Inc. gives its customers access to remote sales training for new and existing employees besides sales and marketing content.

I was actually really surprised that many big companies didn't have a way to do remote learning - all their learning was in person, Winter said.

A part of the funds raised will be used to hire new people, including engineers and for expanding, the company said.