Lumavate completes $6M funding round, adding jobs
CARMEL, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — A Carmel-based tech startup has closed on a $6 million funding round. Lumavate is a Software-as-a-Service company that has developed a platform for businesses to design, build and launch mobile apps without the need for coding or development resources. The company says it will use the funding to further product innovation and add to its go-to-market team, with the goal of creating nearly 30 jobs by the end of the year.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Chief Executive Officer Stephanie Cox said the funding is validation for the company’s efforts.
“For us, one of the things that this funding round signals is that our investors believe that we have the right team, that we have the right type of product, that we’re doing something that’s very differentiated from other competitors in the space, and that the market potential is huge,” said Cox. “And, I think it’s an investment in where the future is headed with just no code.”
Lumavate says it saw a 216% increase in the number of apps built on its no-code platform in 2021. Cox says while the number no-code platforms is growing, that doesn’t mean coding will disappear entirely; instead, it helps fill a workforce gap.
“The need for developers doesn’t necessarily go away. There’s a huge gap between the number of open developer positions just in the United States alone and the number of developers that graduate from a four-year university or a boot camp every day. That gap is almost insurmountable, so platforms like ours make it possible to really bridge that gap.”
She says the platform allows businesses to realize which things that don’t require a developer and those that do, so they can focus their resources in the right place.
The funding round was led by Gutbrain Ventures and PBJ Capital in Boston, with participation from Allos Ventures, BioCrossroads, Collina Ventures and 4G Ventures.
The startup has also announced changes to its board of directors with Bill Godfrey being named chairman and the additions of Christopher Clapp, Bob Davoli, Mark Hill, and Jeff Middlesworth.
“Technology solutions that don’t require deep technical coding expertise are becoming a go-to for enterprises,” said Davoli, managing director at Gutbrain Ventures. “We were impressed by how Lumavate is challenging the marketing status quo with a SaaS mobile app building platform. We look forward to working with the company to help them grow a disruptive platform offering.”
Cox says Lumavate currently has 20 employees and aims to grow that number to nearly 50 by the end of the year. The company previously had an office in Carmel, but switched to a remote work model after the onset of the pandemic.
“What it’s allowed us to do is hire talent throughout the entire United States and Canada, so our talent pool has increased,” she said. “It’s also made us very intentional about how we think about our culture and collaboration.”
The new funding round comes in addition to the $3 million Lumavate raised in 2019 and the $2.5 million seed round it closed the previous year.