Ahead of Rebrand to 'Applause,' Funding Amplifies Company's Plans to Bring 360 Degrees App Quality to Startups and Enterprises Around the World
BOSTON, MA--(Marketwired - Jan 14, 2014) - uTest, the in-the-wild app testing leader, today announced it has closed a $43 Million Series E round of funding, led by Goldman Sachs. The funding comes ahead of the company's previously announced plans to expand its offering and change its name to Applause, and brings its funding-to-date to more than $80 Million.
As the company rolls out its expanded Applause vision in the coming months, it will use this funding to:
"In-the-wild testing has become a critical part of launching great digital experiences -- from apps for web, mobile, wearables and beyond. Funding on this scale, and from a leader like Goldman Sachs, will help us broaden these services, and incorporate tools that enable companies to achieve 360° app quality," said uTest CEO, Doron Reuveni. "We're positioned for a massive market opportunity, and to extend our lead as the one-stop solution for modern app quality."
The round had full participation from all of uTest's previous investors, including QuestMark Partners, Scale Venture Partners, Longworth Venture Partners, Mass Ventures, Egan-Managed Capital and Mesco Ltd. The company's previous round of funding was a $17 Million Series D round in December 2011. As part of the Series E investment, David Campbell, Goldman Sachs' Managing Director, Merchant Banking Division will join the uTest Board of Directors.
"Today, customer-facing applications have become critically important for most businesses. And app quality is a key differentiator between winners and losers in this era of the always-connected, on-the-go, highly vocal user," added Campbell. "When you consider the complexity of creating truly great applications, uTest is uniquely positioned to help its customers win, and to build a large, lasting company in the process."
Today's news comes as companies are recognizing the full importance of App Quality Management. And as the apps economy grows ever-faster, these digital experiences have become the front door to brands, to the companies behind them, and to their top-line results. At the same time, the rise in social media and app store reviews has given users a larger voice than ever before. These user signals now play a significant role in defining app quality and are increasingly utilized by companies. Research firm IDC's Peter Marston stated the value of these signals in 2013:
"Use of outside signals in application life-cycle development is an effective, increasingly holistic way to gather a fuller spectrum of data that help application vendors, in turn, be more strategic in how they build or enhance their applications, as well as help foster stronger user adoption upon an application's release."
Headquartered near Boston, uTest has seen consistent success and sharp growth since launching in August of 2008. Company milestones include:
About uTest, Inc.
uTest provides in-the-wild testing solutions that span the entire software development lifecycle -- including functional, security, load, localization and usability testing. The company's community of 100,000+ professional testers from 200 countries and territories puts web, mobile and desktop applications through their paces by testing on real devices under real-world conditions. Thousands of companies rely on uTest as a critical component of their testing processes for fast, reliable and effective testing results. The company recently announced that it will be expanding its vision and changing its name to Applause in 2014. Visit uTest at www.utest.com and keep tabs on @uTest via Twitter.
Contact Information:
For more information, contact
Nick Lorenzen
nlorenzen@utest.com
617-688-0525