Netlify Raises $105M Series D for Jamstack Web Development

Netlify's Evolution and Recent Funding

Netlify was an early adopter of the concept of decoupling front-end website design from back-end business logic. The company championed Jamstack and microservices at a time when these technologies were not widely recognized.

While this approach is now commonplace in web development, it wasn't the standard practice when Netlify first emerged.

Series D Funding and Valuation

The company’s foresight and understanding of these emerging technologies likely contributed to its appeal to investors. Netlify recently announced a $105 million Series D funding round, resulting in a $2 billion valuation.

This new investment arrives just 18 months following the completion of its $53 million Series C round.

Investor Details

Bessemer Venture Partners spearheaded the current funding round, with participation from existing investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Bond, EQT Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Mango Capital, and Menlo Ventures.

According to Crunchbase data, Netlify has now secured nearly $200 million in funding.

The Shift in Architecture

Matt Biilmann, Netlify’s CEO and co-founder, noted that initially, a significant effort was required to educate the industry and demonstrate the value of the architectural changes Netlify proposed.

However, the landscape has dramatically shifted. “The architectural shift is absolutely happening, and is only accelerating,” Biilmann stated.

Future Goals and Developer Revolution

This acceleration is a key driver behind the new funding round, which will be used to further accelerate this trend, fuel the developer revolution, and advance modern web development practices.

The company also aims to address the next generation of challenges facing developers.

Addressing API Complexity

A primary focus is managing the increasing complexity of multiple APIs and the dependencies between them. To address this, Netlify recently acquired OneGraph, a Y Combinator Summer 2018 startup.

OneGraph developed a GraphQL-based solution for connecting these disparate APIs on the back end.

OneGraph Integration

“OneGraph technology will be an important part of our next stage of product development,” Biilmann explained. “We want to help teams overcome the complexity of numerous APIs and services.”

The goal is to create a unified application experience for Jamstack development, leveraging the benefits of a world where APIs are readily available and the user interface is decoupled.

User Growth and Expansion

Netlify currently serves over 2 million developers on its platform, with a substantial portion utilizing the free tier.

The company doubled its user base from 1 million to 2 million in just one year, demonstrating rapid growth.

Team Expansion and Diversity

Netlify currently employs 200 people and plans to double its workforce in the coming year as it deploys the new capital.

Co-founder Christian Bach emphasized the importance of diversity within the company, reflecting its global and diverse customer base.

“We cater to anyone that builds for the web, so a diverse target audience requires a sufficiently intelligent and equally diverse organization,” he said.

Jamstack Innovation Fund

Netlify also announced a $10 million Jamstack Innovation Fund to foster innovation within the Jamstack ecosystem, offering investments in the $100,000 range.

Additionally, the company is allocating $1 million to support the development of open-source tooling related to the ecosystem.