Software startup plans to add at least 250 jobs in Mass. after $300M funding round

A startup with dual headquarters offices in Somerville and Paris plans to add as many as 250 jobs in the Boston area now that it has landed $300 million in new equity funding.

© Photo courtesy of Mirakl
Mirakl cofounder Adrien Nussenbaum

Mirakl cofounder Adrien Nussenbaum, whose firm creates and sells digital-marketplace software, said the roughly 300-person company is looking to add as many as 1,000 jobs over the next three years, including 250 in Greater Boston, in part due to the surge in revenue it is seeing because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Permira Advisers was the lead investor, and was joined by existing Mirakl investors such as 83North, Bain Capital Ventures, Elaia Partners, and Felix Capital. Details of the transaction were not disclosed, but Mirakl said the latest funding round places the company’s valuation at more than $1.5 billion.

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In the first half of the year, Mirakl’s North American sales doubled 2019 revenue and was on pace to quadruple it by the end of 2020. The pandemic prompted many companies to accelerate their digital shifts, including by establishing or expanding the capabilities of their digital marketplaces, in which they make items available for sale from third party vendors.

Nearly 50 people are based at the Somerville office now. Nussenbaum said he was close to signing a lease for a new US headquarters but held off once the pandemic hit in March. However, he still plans on leasing a much bigger office here.

Nussenbaum launched the company in 2012 Paris with cofounder Philippe Corrot, and moved to the Boston area in 2015 with his family. He chose to establish Mirakl’s US base here in Boston over Silicon Valley in part because of the shorter flight to France, the quality of life, and the corporate culture.

The company is setting up internal controls to prepare for a possible initial public offering within the next two years, he said.

“We view the company as a company that has long-term potential, and not a company whose natural route is to be acquired,” by a big enterprise software business, Nussenbaum said.