2024 Q3 Update
In a record year for K1, we have realized $2.9 billion in enterprise value in 2024 through six realizations, including GoCanvas, acquired by Nemetschek Group (FRA:NEM), and Axcient, acquired by Connectwise, a flagship Thoma Bravo portfolio company. These realizations reflect our ability to transform businesses into strategic assets for buyers.
So far this year, K1 has made strategic investments in ten new companies, including Board Intelligence, a leader in AI-powered board management software, and MariaDB (NYSE: MRDB), a take-private investment in a company delivering innovative, scalable database solutions.
In a fast-moving market, K1 remains focused on identifying and scaling small enterprise software companies, driving meaningful value creation through strategic investments and exits. Our single team, single office, single fund approach helps us to identify, build, and scale category leaders.
Beyond these transactions, K1’s in-house recruiting team has played a pivotal role in placing 174 leadership hires across our portfolio, including 68 board members and C-suite executives.
With 74% of our active buyout portfolio represented on the 2024 Inc. 5000, we remain focused on driving growth and long-term success for our portfolio companies.
2024 YTD in Numbers
Featured Realizations
over
K1’s Initial Investment
nearly
Revenue Growth
generated
ARR in 2023
over
Acquisition Multiple of 2023’s ARR
In July, we exited GoCanvas, a category leader in field worker collaboration software, to Nemetschek Group (FRA:NEM).
Since K1’s initial investment in 2019, GoCanvas achieved remarkable growth, with revenue increasing nearly 4x during the investment period. Strategic acquisitions of DeviceMagic and SiteDocs expanded its market presence and enhanced its product offering.
The sale of GoCanvas represents a significant achievement for both K1 and GoCanvas, culminating in an all-cash deal with an acquisition multiple of over 11.5x 2023 ARR.
In September, we completed the sale of Axcient, a leader in Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) solutions for managed service providers (MSPs), to ConnectWise, a Thoma Bravo portfolio company.
Since K1’s initial investment, Axcient achieved substantial growth, with annual recurring revenue increasing by 7.5x. This growth was fueled by customer-focused innovation and strategic acquisitions of Anchor, Cloudfinder, and Replibit, which enhanced Axcient’s market presence and solidified its position as a leader in the BCDR space.
This transaction highlights K1’s experience in transforming software companies into strategic assets that attract leading buyers, building long-term value through innovation and operational excellence.
K1’s partnership was instrumental in transforming Axcient into a category leader in business continuity solutions, providing the strategic insight and operational support we needed to scale our technology and expand our market reach. As we join the ConnectWise family, we are excited to continue our mission, building on the strong foundation we created with K1.
Rod Mathews | CEO of Axcient
Featured Investments
In August, we completed our acquisition of MariaDB, a leading provider of enterprise database software. This strategic investment positions MariaDB to further expand its global presence and continue delivering innovative, scalable solutions that help power mission-critical applications for nearly 700 active customers.
With clients including Deutsche Bank, RedHat, and Samsung, MariaDB’s products are trusted across industries, including banking, telecommunications, healthcare, and e-commerce, for their reliability in managing transactional, analytical, and mixed workloads.
In conjunction with the acquisition, MariaDB announced the appointment of Rohit de Souza as CEO. Rohit brings extensive leadership experience in global organizations, having previously held senior roles at Actian and Micro Focus.
With K1’s support, we aim to accelerate product innovation and expand our capabilities to meet the rapidly growing demands for AI and cloud-based solutions. Our partnership allows us to continue delivering the innovative database solutions our customers rely on.
Rohit de Souza | CEO at MariaDB
In August, we completed our acquisition of MariaDB, a leading provider of enterprise database software. This strategic investment positions MariaDB to further expand its global presence and continue delivering innovative, scalable solutions that help power mission-critical applications for nearly 700 active customers.
With clients including Deutsche Bank, RedHat, and Samsung, MariaDB’s products are trusted across industries, including banking, telecommunications, healthcare, and e-commerce, for their reliability in managing transactional, analytical, and mixed workloads.
In conjunction with the acquisition, MariaDB announced the appointment of Rohit de Souza as CEO. Rohit brings extensive leadership experience in global organizations, having previously held senior roles at Actian and Micro Focus.
In July, we invested in Board Intelligence, a London-based AI-powered platform focused on driving better board decision-making through innovative governance software. This strategic partnership aims to accelerate Board Intelligence’s growth through product development, international expansion, and acquisitions, further strengthening its position as a leader in the governance technology space.
Trusted by over 40,000 leaders from 3,000 organizations, including Generali, Schroders, Nationwide, Zurich Insurance Group, Aston Martin, and the National Health Service (NHS), Board Intelligence’s platform enables secure document collaboration and more effective governance. Their AI-powered report-writing tool, Lucia, is designed to streamline board report creation, empowering management teams to deliver concise and impactful insights.
In August, Board Intelligence acquired TeamEngine, combining Board Intelligence’s AI-powered governance platform with TeamEngine’s experience in secure board collaboration. The combined capabilities will enable the company to support both public and private sector clients with enhanced functionality, to drive further innovation in governance and board management.
Board Intelligence has established itself as a leader in the board management space with an exceptional team and governance experience. By combining our teams, we can deliver even more value to our clients and strengthen our global position.
Anders Gröndahl | CEO of TeamEngine
Featured Add-ons
This spring, TokenEx merged with IXOPAY, creating a new category leader in global payments optimization.
By combining TokenEx’s data tokenization with IXOPAY’s payment orchestration, the joint platform is expected to enhance authorization rates, reduce fees, and provide a strategic advantage for merchants managing multiple processors.
In May, Reveal acquired Onna, a leader in managing unstructured data from cloud-based collaboration tools.
This strategic acquisition is expected to enhance Reveal’s AI-powered eDiscovery platform by integrating advanced data collection capabilities, helping legal teams reduce risk and improve efficiency in handling unstructured data.
In August, Routeware completed a strategic carve-out from RUBICON Technologies (NYSE: RBT), acquiring Wastech, owner of the RUBICONSmartCity and RUBICONPro platforms.
This acquisition is expected to expand Routeware’s product offerings, enabling the company to deliver innovative, integrated solutions for both private waste haulers and public sector municipalities.
Executive Recruiting
K1’s in-house recruiting team plays a crucial role in driving success across our portfolio, bringing in leadership talent from top-tier market players.
So far this year:
Board Members and C-Suite Executives placed across the portfolio
VPs, Directors and Managers placed across the portfolio
Total Executives Placed
Featured Portfolio Hires
Congratulations to the 30 K1 portfolio companies that made the list — a K1 record!
K1 Events
To date this year, K1 has hosted over 24 high-impact events at premier locations worldwide.
These events bring together top technology and finance executives from our portfolio and beyond, offering a platform for C-level leaders to network, collaborate, and explore new growth opportunities.
As we prepare for our upcoming events, enjoy highlights from prior years below.
Upcoming Events
Our events bring together top executives from our portfolio and beyond, offering a distinct platform for C-level leaders to network, collaborate, and explore new growth opportunities. As we prepare for our next series of events, enjoy highlights from prior years below.
Interested in becoming a part of our community that’s shaping the future of enterprise software?
Request to join the K1 Accelerate network below.
Community Involvement
At K1, we believe in making a meaningful difference in the communities where we live and work.
Through longstanding partnerships with charitable organizations and non-profits, we aim to address key societal challenges while enriching local initiatives.
In 2024, we strengthened our commitment by continuing support for important causes and forming new partnerships focused on sustainability, education, and community well-being.
This doesn't have to be goodbye.
YTD Investments and Realizations
News | September 16, 2024
News | September 10, 2024
Disclosures & Disclaimers
This update (the “Update”) does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase any security, and is not presented with a view to providing investment advice with respect to any security or making any claim as to the past, current or future performance thereof. K1 Investment Management, LLC (together with its affiliates, “K1”) expressly disclaims the use of this Update for such purposes. This Update is solely intended to provide general information regarding K1’s operational activities, financing capabilities and general business experience. Portfolio companies presented herein are for informational purposes only and are intended to illustrate such historical activities. There can be no assurance future portfolio companies will be similar in quality or performance. The portfolio companies included herein should not be assumed to have been profitable. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. There can be no assurance historical trends will continue. K1 does not warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information herein. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. K1 disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on this Update or anyone who may be informed of its contents. Please note that the cited percentages in the Introduction reflect data for K1 control deals only. Transaction counts are as of September 30, 2024.
K1 Operations is K1’s dedicated operational consulting affiliate. The K1 Operations team includes recruiters and is not employed by K1 (although K1 Operations is an affiliate of K1). Any fees, compensation, expense reimbursements or other amounts received by K1 Operations and its team are generally paid by a portfolio company or, subject to the terms and conditions of the K1 Funds’ limited partnership agreements, by K1 clients, and do not offset or otherwise reduce management fees. Accordingly, the fees and expenses of K1 Operations and its team are not covered by management fees.
Third Party Awards and Designations. The awards and designations presented on this website are the opinion of the respective parties conferring the award or designation and not of K1. No such person conferring any of the listed award(s) or designation(s) is affiliated with K1 or is an investor in K1-sponsored vehicles. The award does not reflect the experience of any client and is not based on, or indicative of, investment returns. The description and the selection methodologies of rankings and awards can be subjective and will often vary. There can be no assurance that other providers or surveys would reach the same conclusions as the foregoing.
2024 Inc. 5000 – Companies on the 2024 Inc. 5000 (“Inc 5000”, the “List”) are ranked according to percentage revenue growth from 2020 to 2023. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2020. They must be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independent–not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies–as of December 31, 2023. (Since then, some on the list may have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2020 is $100,000; the minimum for 2023 is $2 million. Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Growth rates used to determine rankings were calculated to four decimal places. The full extent of the scope of firms and data included in the related surveys or evaluations is unknown. Each eligible portfolio company paid an application fee in connection with the award. In general, the receipt of compensation influences, and is likely to present a potential material conflict of interest, relating to any granted award.
The video content contained herein represents the personal views and opinions of the speakers and does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of K1 Investment Management LLC (“K1”). The inclusion of the video content on this site does not constitute an endorsement by K1 or its affiliates of the subject matter therein. The video content has been made available for informational and educational purposes only. K1 does not make any representation or warranties with respect to the accuracy, applicability, fitness, or completeness of the video content. The video content is not intended to constitute investment advice. Certain statements about K1 made by portfolio company executives herein are intended to illustrate K1’s business relationship with such persons, including with respect to K1’s facilities as a business partner, rather than K1’s capabilities or expertise with respect to investment advisory services. Portfolio company executives were not compensated in connection with their participation, although they generally receive compensation and investment opportunities in connection with their portfolio company roles, and in certain cases are also owners of portfolio company securities and/or investors in K1-sponsored vehicles. Such compensation and investments subject participants to potential conflicts of interest in making the statements herein.
Certain statements about K1 Investment Management LLC (“K1”) made by portfolio company executives herein are intended to illustrate K1’s business relationship with such persons, including with respect to K1’s facilities as a business partner, rather than K1’s capabilities or expertise with respect to investment advisory services. Portfolio company executives were not compensated in connection with their participation, although they generally receive compensation and investment opportunities in connection with their portfolio company roles, and in certain cases are also owners of portfolio company securities and/or investors in K1-sponsored vehicles. Such compensation and investments subject participants to potential conflicts of interest in making the statements herein.
Portfolio Company revenue, EBITDA and similar figures presented in this Update are reflected on a pro forma or adjusted basis, as K1 deems appropriate, for material add-on acquisitions and divestitures, and other significant transactions (e.g., material sale-leaseback transactions, etc.) and expenses, if applicable. Additionally, amounts contained in this Updated are generally unaudited and may be flash or preliminary amounts reported by portfolio company management. Revenue, EBITDA and similar figures discussed in the Information with respect to companies are believed to be from reliable sources, including portfolio company management, but K1 does not attest to their accuracy. In addition, portfolio company revenue and EBITDA and related growth rates are not indicative of any investment returns and should not be viewed as such. Investment returns and valuations involve various inputs and estimates and are not based solely on revenue and EBITDA. Data is as of September 30, 2024 unless otherwise noted.
This Update identifies a number of benefits inherent in K1’s services and operations, although K1 is also subject to a number of material risks associated with these benefits. K1 believes that K1, its personnel and K1 Operations used, employed or retained by K1 will have competitive advantages in identifying, diligencing, monitoring, consulting, and improving and ultimately selling portfolio companies; however, there can be no guarantee that K1 will be able to maintain such advantages over time, outperform third parties or the financial markets generally, or avoid losses.
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