Citing client demand, Samdesk has raised $13.5 million in Series A financing, which it plans to use to hire employees both for new positions and to bolster the company's existing teams.
The company offers a global disruption monitoring tool, delivering real-time crisis alerts powered by AI. Its successful financing round was led by Toronto-based McRock Capital, along with HarbourVest, Export Development Canada, and participation from several existing shareholders.
The business is headquartered in Edmonton, with offices in London, U.K. Most of the new hires will be in Edmonton, plus some in a few other locations.
CEO James Neufeld said there are no current plans for new major offices or location expansions.
"Being based in Edmonton has helped us massively in building a strong corporate culture," Neufeld told Taproot.
"Edmonton's strength is in its down-to-earth, hard-working, and diverse people. This helps us build a company that clients love to work with, and allows us to scale a company with empathic people who care deeply about the problems they're solving and the customers they're serving. This is often overlooked, but is truly a competitive advantage and something I can't say enough."
Neufeld also hopes the funding serves as further proof to other local startups that it's possible to build in Edmonton.
"We are by no means the first, and we certainly know we will not be the last. We're so excited to play a larger role in what future work looks like here. Beyond Edmonton, our province is facing an identity crisis. We hope this funding, and all the startups coming up, will continue to pave the way for a diversified economy and society that views its people, their dreams, education, and health as our true natural resources," Neufeld said.
The announcement follows the company's rebrand from Social Asset Management (SAM) to Samdesk, and "a strong year of sales fuelled by COVID-19, as the pandemic led companies to invest in risk detection and mitigation strategies," reported Betakit.
Samdesk was also recently awarded a contract by Transport for London (TfL) to provide notifications about emerging disruptions to the transportation network in London, U.K.