The Future of Office Work and Saltmine's Role

The evolving landscape of work following the COVID-19 pandemic is prompting companies to reassess their office environments.

Saltmine, a startup specializing in workplace design, aims to assist organizations in navigating this transition.

Series A Funding and Strategic Partnership

Saltmine has successfully secured $20 million in Series A funding.

This financing round was spearheaded by existing investors, Jungle Ventures and Xplorer Capital, with additional participation from JLL Spark, the investment division of commercial real estate firm JLL.

A significant aspect of this deal is the partnership between JLL and Saltmine. JLL will directly offer Saltmine’s services to its clientele, creating a new revenue channel for the four-year-old company.

Digitizing Workplace Design

Saltmine positions its cloud-based technology as a transformative force in corporate real estate, mirroring the impact Salesforce had on sales teams by digitizing and streamlining processes.

According to CEO and founder Shagufta Anurag, the company experienced an 80% increase in ARR (annual recurring revenue) last year and doubled its client base.

Currently, Saltmine serves over 35 customers, including prominent organizations like PG&E, Snowflake, and Workday, with a core mission to facilitate the creation of optimal workplaces for employees.

Impressive Growth and Customer Retention

The company boasts a 95% customer retention rate and saw a 350% year-over-year growth in monthly active users of its SaaS platform in 2020.

To date, Saltmine’s platform has been utilized to design and analyze 50 million square feet of office space across 1,500 projects.

Platform Capabilities and Data Integration

Saltmine provides tools for implementing measures such as social distancing within office spaces.

The platform consolidates all workplace data – encompassing strategy, design, pricing, and portfolio analytics – into a single location.

It integrates and analyzes floor plans, project requirements, and real-time behavioral data (collected through sensors and employee feedback) to pinpoint specific design needs.

Beyond improving the design process, Saltmine aims to assist companies in optimizing their real estate portfolios.

The Pandemic's Impact and the Need for Digital Transformation

Shagufta Anurag emphasizes that the pandemic has accelerated the need for digital transformation in workplace design and reimagining.

She notes that a full “return to normal” is unlikely, with increased emphasis on work-life balance and social distancing measures.

This creates significant pressure on corporate real estate leaders to adapt and modify workplaces accordingly.

Visualizing Change with 3D Renderings

Once companies define their evolving needs, Saltmine utilizes immersive digital 3D renderings to help visualize the necessary changes to their properties.

Founder's Experience and Vision

Shagufta Anurag brings extensive experience in the design sector, having previously founded Space Matrix, a leading interior design firm in Asia, and Livspace, a digital home interior design company.

She observed similar challenges in office real estate as she did in the residential market, recognizing that real estate represents the second-largest cost for companies and directly impacts their most valuable asset – their employees.

Future Plans and Expansion

With the new funding, Saltmine intends to expand its team and acquire new customers, particularly focusing on Global 2000 companies.

Currently employing approximately 125 individuals across five offices in Asia, Europe, and North America, the company anticipates reaching 170 employees by the end of the year and achieving profitability by the end of fiscal year 2021.

While initially focused on North America, Saltmine is now extending its reach into the APAC region and Australia.

JLL Spark's Perspective

Yishai Lerner, co-CEO of JLL Technologies, highlighted JLL Spark’s attraction to Saltmine’s approach of centralizing data and analytics.

He explained that a single source of truth for data fosters collaboration among teams, which is crucial for workspace planning, ultimately reducing inefficiencies and improving workflows in the fragmented design, build, and fit-out market.

Strategic Investment and Distribution

JLL Spark’s investment is coupled with an agreement to directly sell Saltmine’s software to its customers, recognizing the potential benefits of leveraging JLL’s distribution network.

Lerner stated that as JLL clients embrace the future of work, they seek technology solutions that enhance building efficiency and effectiveness, and Saltmine’s platform aligns perfectly with these requirements by streamlining collaboration, increasing transparency, and simplifying data management.

(Note: The customer section of this article was updated after initial publication.)