Insight Partners

Today, as Insight Partners celebrates our 30th year of software investing, we are proud to announce the close of our thirteenth flagship fund with a dedicated buyout co-invest fund (together “Fund XIII”), as well as the closing of our structured equity fund, Opportunities Fund II, raising over $12.5B to support scaling software leaders. We are grateful for the trust that new and long-term investors have placed in our strategy of finding and scaling the industry’s most innovative and transformative software companies.     To honor these milestones, we have codified what drives us and how we operate.     The Insight Way is how we work with founders, how we train the next generation of investors, and how we continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible.    Many things in this industry can be copied. The Insight Way cannot.    • We believe in a software-first, stage-agnostic approach to investing. We don’t follow trends, we define them.     • We believe in the power of process. Success isn’t a moment; it’s a system.    • We believe in relentless innovation. Whether through sourcing, scaling, or exiting, we’re always evolving. We’re always improving.     • We believe in the importance of people. From our team to our founders, we invest in talent and trust them to lead.    • We believe in the power of partnerships. When built on trust, they stand the test of time.    • We believe in building enduring legacies, not fleeting wins. This includes our own. https://lnkd.in/evpyg_Dm

This week in Onsite Hour, we explored how #SaaS leaders can turn the relationship between product and engineering with capital allocation into a strategic advantage.   Led by Rachel Weston Rowell, Jordi Buller, and Roxi W., the session focused on: 📈 Making capital allocation a growth lever: The best CFOs don’t just manage budgets — they ensure resources are flowing to the highest-impact opportunities. Strong alignment between R&D and finance enables faster, more strategic decision-making. 📈 Translating technical investments into business outcomes: Instead of “We need to refactor the platform," say, “A $1M investment in refactoring will reduce downtime by 30%, preventing $5M in lost revenue.” Clear, outcome-driven storytelling keeps critical initiatives funded. 📈 Using financial metrics to sharpen product strategy: ARR growth, gross margin, COGS, and capital efficiency aren’t just investor metrics — they provide a blueprint for balancing innovation with sustainable growth.   📈 Building an ongoing partnership with finance: Budgeting shouldn’t be an annual negotiation. Product and engineering leaders who engage finance early and often can secure the investment needed to scale efficiently.    The bottom line: The most successful SaaS leaders don’t just build great products — they invest in the right initiatives at the right time to drive lasting impact. When product, engineering, and finance work together, R&D becomes a growth engine, not just a cost center.   Stay tuned for more top takeaways from our Onsite Hour series.

We’re keeping up our celebration of #WomensHistoryMonth! Meet Roshni Dugar. 👩💼 What do you do at Insight? (Roshni) I sit on our Healthcare Investment team, focused on sourcing and evaluating early and growth stage software opportunities across a wide set of healthcare and pharma buyers. I also get to work closely with our incredible portfolio companies on all things M&A, strategy, and ops. 🤝 Can you share a professional milestone that stands out to you and why it’s meaningful? (Roshni) The opportunity to help launch Insight’s first dedicated vertical team, Team Health. When I joined Insight five years ago as a generalist, I quickly gravitated toward healthcare for its inherent mission to improve people’s lives. Over time, we’ve had the opportunity to formalize a dedicated team and strategy focused on investing in healthcare companies that unlock efficiencies and improve cost and quality of care at scale. It’s been exciting to help build something from the ground up and create value in such an important industry. 🔮 What are you excited about for the future? (Roshni) I’m really excited about the technological rate of change we’ve been experiencing. With founders continuously pushing on pre-conceived boundaries, it’s a privilege to be at the forefront of these shifts as an investor. It’s been a tremendous learning experience, and I’m excited to be in a role that allows me to help founders scale the impact of AI as a superpower, transforming how we know healthcare to exist today.

When is the right time to go public? The answer is far more nuanced than “when the window is open.” “The colloquial notion is that these IPO windows are open and shut, and I argue that that oversimplifies it,” says Managing Director Ryan Hinkle. Hinkle sat down with NYSE Vice Chairman and Global Head of Capital Markets Michael Harris to discuss this key question for founders and Hinkle’s IPO takeaways after standing on the NYSE balcony with Smartsheet. Given the current landscape, Hinkle emphasized that founders should focus on IPO preparation, but what does that look like in the day-to-day? 💡 Establishing predictability 🚨 Solidifying leadership and governance ✉️ Preparing for public scrutiny 📈 Assessing the strategic motive 💵 Building a strong investor relations strategy See why founders who prepare today will be the ones ringing the bell tomorrow: https://lnkd.in/ez7G2uhE

Congrats to Proscia, a software company leading pathology’s transition to digital and AI, on their $50M raise! Cancer patients often wait more than two months to receive a diagnosis and start treatment as the rest of medicine races ahead. Pathology—the bedrock of up to 70% of clinical decisions and a critical driver of every drug brought to market—is among the last fields of healthcare to modernize, despite mounting pressures from a workforce shortage and rising case volume. Proscia is rewiring pathology, shifting it from microscope to data-rich images, to overcome these challenges, unlock new insights, and shape the future of care. Managing Director Scott Barclay said of the deal, "Insight has had a long-standing thesis on digitization and AI in pathology, and we've been waiting for a winner to emerge. Proscia is poised to be that leader. With its fast-growing customer base and strong champions of its product, it will continue to solidify its position as digital pathology moves into the mainstream.” Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eK9vVXvD

At ScaleUp:AI '24, AI luminary and DeepLearning.AI Founder Andrew Ng delivered a powerful message: Focus on AI applications, not just workflows. In his dynamic presentation, Ng touched on: 💡 AI’s real value lies in applications: Ng emphasized that AI is a general-purpose technology, but the greatest opportunity is in building applications that drive revenue and sustain the ecosystem. 💡Agentic AI is transforming workflows: AI Agents can iterate, research, and refine outputs, leading to significantly better results in industries like law, healthcare, and government. 💡The AI stack is evolving: The emergence of an agentic orchestration layer is making it easier to build AI applications. 💡Companies need a structured AI strategy: Ng shared a five-step process for corporate AI adoption, starting with executive training and systematic opportunity identification. 🔗 Watch his full keynote here: https://lnkd.in/eb9eZjQN

Today is a monumental day for Insight Partners portfolio company Wiz, which has signed definitive agreements to be acquired by Google in the largest acquisition ever of a VC-backed company.   Our history with Wiz goes back to the company’s $100M Series A round, which we co-led in 2020. We saw something special in what Assaf Rappaport, Ami Luttwak, Yinon C., and Roy R. were building, and their idea was further validated by subsequent funding rounds, acquisitions of companies, ARR milestones, and more—all culminating in today’s agreement to be acquired by Google.    A huge congratulations to Wiz on this deal, which will provide incredible value to the combined companies’ customers, partners, and employees. We’re honored to have been a partner on your ScaleUp journey!   https://lnkd.in/eccuxHCt

“We made a bet on SaaS when most software companies were still on-prem. That bet paid off.” Peter Bauer, cofounder of Mimecast, saw the rise of email before it became mission-critical for businesses. In 2003, alongside Neil Murray, he launched Mimecast with an early SaaS model to protect, manage, and optimize email security. By 2012, Bauer had taken Mimecast global, and with backing from Insight Partners — which led a $62M Series C — the company scaled rapidly in North America and beyond. "They were in the right place at the right time, with the right focus and leadership,” says Managing Director Jeffrey Lieberman. "Mimecast brought security and zero downtime to the businesses that depended on it. They had solutions for phishing before phishing really existed.” By 2015, Mimecast was ready to take the next step: going public. At a time when listed SaaS companies were still rare, Mimecast successfully launched its IPO on Nasdaq, selling 7.8M shares at $10 each. When Permira acquired Mimecast in 2021, those same shares were priced at $80. “Peter was relentless,” recalls Managing Director Hilary Gosher. “He understood that going public wasn’t an endpoint — it was a step in building a long-term, sustainable business. His ability to stay focused on the big picture while managing the day-to-day realities of an IPO process was a huge asset.” Today, with 42,000+ businesses relying on Mimecast for security, its impact is undeniable. Read more on Mimecast’s journey from bootstrapped startup to IPO success: https://lnkd.in/e_mcc-Q3 #CyberSecurity #TechInnovation #SaaS #IPO #Leadership

This week, we launched Onsite Hour — Insight Partners’ new weekly event series for our portfolio companies. Each session delivers tactical, high-impact insights powered by the Onsite Growth Engine, our dedicated team of over 130 in-house experts. For our inaugural event, EVP Charlene Chen led a tactical session on how to leverage high-value, intimate events as part of your GTM strategy: ⏰ Make it exclusive: Keep it intimate (12-15 people), curate the right mix of prospects and customers, and use a private venue to enhance the experience. ⏰ Peer-driven social proof: High-caliber discussions create trust. When prospects hear from customers directly, it’s a level of validation that no sales pitch can replicate. ⏰ Ditch the email blasts: Personal invites from execs drive attendance. Use the 3x3x3 rule: three touches before, during, and after the event. ⏰ Facilitate a real discussion: Keep it structured but conversational. No sales pitches — just insight-sharing. Start with a question that sparks engagement. ⏰ Tie it to pipeline: Align with sales on priority prospects, capture deal insights, and follow up personally and promptly to keep momentum going. The bottom line: If you’re selling into the enterprise, small group events should be in your GTM playbook. They are a high-impact strategy that drives trust, engagement, pipeline, and amplifies your brand. Whether you’re an early-stage startup or further along in your scaling journey, a well-executed event can turn conversations into conversions. Stay tuned for more insights throughout the series!

Global expansion isn’t just about market demand. Entity structuring, employment laws, tax compliance, and data privacy regulations can make or break your global strategy. 1. Establish your company structure and employment practices 2. Comply with data privacy regulations 3. Address U.S.-specific regulatory and employment challenges 📖 Get the full breakdown here: https://lnkd.in/e5AXDviM