The Rise of SaaS Management and Torii's Solution

It is now commonplace for software to be delivered as a cloud service. Virtually all contemporary tools are offered via a SaaS model. As organizations increase their reliance on these services, managing them effectively can become increasingly complex.

Torii, a relatively new startup, aims to simplify the management of SaaS application proliferation. The company recently announced a $10 million Series A funding round, spearheaded by Wing Venture Capital.

Securing Funding and Expanding Operations

This investment round saw participation from existing investors including Entree Capital, Global Founders Capital, Scopus Ventures, and Uncork Capital. With this latest funding, Torii’s total raised capital now reaches $15 million. Jake Flomenberg, a partner at Wing, will be joining the company’s board of directors as part of the agreement.

Uri Haramati, co-founder and CEO of Torii, is a seasoned entrepreneur with prior experience launching Houseparty and Meerkat. He and his co-founders recognized the difficulties inherent in managing SaaS applications within their own companies, which ultimately inspired the creation of Torii.

Addressing SaaS Sprawl

“We experienced firsthand the challenges associated with managing the tools we utilized as SaaS adoption grew,” Haramati explained. “We leveraged SaaS to facilitate company growth, but quickly realized that simply adding personnel to manage the increasing software portfolio isn’t a scalable solution.”

Torii was conceived as a software-driven solution to control the expanding landscape of SaaS tools. The core of their approach is an automation engine designed to discover and oversee all SaaS applications within an organization.

Once an organization has a clear understanding of its SaaS inventory, a no-code workflow engine enables the creation of automated processes for crucial tasks such as employee onboarding and offboarding.

Rapid Growth and Notable Clients

The company’s strategy appears to be effective. The onset of the pandemic in 2020 spurred increased demand for SaaS management solutions, resulting in a 400% year-over-year revenue growth for Torii last year. Their customer base includes prominent companies like Delivery Hero, Monday.com, and Palo Alto Networks.

Torii has also significantly expanded its team, doubling in size from its initial twelve employees. The company plans to reach a headcount of 60 by the end of the current year.

Haramati emphasized their commitment to building a diverse and inclusive workforce, particularly in terms of gender representation. Currently, the team comprises 25 individuals, with 10 being women, and they are actively working to improve these ratios as they continue to hire.

Why Wing Venture Capital Invested

Jake Flomenberg’s decision to invest in Torii was driven by his admiration for the company’s automation capabilities and its comprehensive approach to SaaS management. He noted that Torii doesn’t focus on solving isolated parts of the problem, but rather addresses the entire challenge.

“Uri articulated a vision to become the operating system for SaaS,” Flomenberg stated. “This begins with accurate data, gathered from various sources, to create a complete and reliable overview. They then leveraged this data to build a platform powered by automation.”

Future Plans and Expansion

Haramati acknowledged the challenges of scaling a company during a pandemic, but affirmed that Torii is experiencing growth and actively working to enhance its platform. Future development plans include incorporating product recommendations and providing assistance with compliance and cost optimization.