French accounting software platform Pennylane raises $200M

French accounting software platform Pennylane has raised $200m in a funding round, but says it had no immediate need for the fresh funds.  

The Series E round was led by growth investor TCV, a new investor, with new investor Blackstone Growth and existing investors, including Sequoia, DST Global and the venture arm of Alphabet, CapitalG, also participating.  

The funding round values Pennylane at around $4.25bn, according to a report in Bloomberg, but Tech.eu was not able to verify this.  

Founded in 2020, Pennylane is a financial management and accounting platform for startups, SMEs, and their accountants across Europe.  

It sells itself as an “all-in-one” accounting and financial management platform that centralises the financial function of businesses and their accountants in one shared workspace, enabling them to work closer together.

Arthur Waller, co-founder and CEO of Pennylane, said: “We had no immediate need for funding, but the opportunity to partner with investors like TCV and Blackstone with low dilution was a strategic advantage. This gives us the resources to stay fully independent while accelerating our lead in AI and expanding across Europe. Our mission remains unchanged: being the reference tool for accountants and their clients."

Pennylane says it will use the funding to increase its R&D investment, including fine-tuning its product in Germany, where it recently launched, and improving its payment and cash management offering.  

Last year, Pennylane raised €75m in a funding round co-led by Sequoia, Alphabet’s CapitalG, and Meritech Capital Partners, while the year before it raised €40 million in a Series C.