Software management start-up Cledara lands $20m Series A

Cledara, a UK-based software management start-up, has completed a $20 million Series A funding round.

CommerzVentures led the round with additional investment by Carbide Ventures and Massive. Existing investors Nauta Capital and Notion Capital also took part.

Cledara raises $20m

Founded in 2018, Cledara claims to be “the first software management platform designed for growing companies”, with 800+ companies on its user list.

Its mission is “to make it simple for any company to take control of their growing software subscriptions in a simple, intuitive manner”. Its flagship offering combines a payment platform with software management capabilities – “designed specifically for the journey of software within an organisation”.

Cledara issues credit and debit cards via Mastercard, serving customers in the US, UK and Europe.

Cristina Vila, the company’s founder and CEO, says Cledara is a result of her “life-long desire to start a company that focussed on helping people”.

The raised money will be used for further expansion across the US. Following the company’s launch in the US in March, the country has become its second largest and fastest growing market, with 35%+ month on month growth.

Pankaj Tibrewal, general partner at Carbide Ventures, believes Cledara “has cracked the code on a huge problem with significant potential in the US”.

Tibrewal adds: “We see tremendous potential in Cledara’s ability to organise vast amounts of data surrounding software payments, usage and buyer preference which frankly we have not seen in any other player in the market.”

The company says it has seen “explosive growth” across the business in the last year. Total volume of software purchased through Cledara grew 830% in the last 12 months, with customers including UK insurtech Marshmallow, mapping technology firm what3words, and data streaming platform Conduktor.

In late 2020, Cledara raised $3.4 million from Nauta Capital and BBVA Anthemis Venture Partnership.