GSoft, a Canada-based software company behind products that improve the employee experience, has received CA$125 million (USD$93 million) in investment from Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec (CDPQ), a pension fund that invests in companies and assets in several categories such as equity markets, private equity, real estate, infrastructure, and fixed income. With the funds, the company plans to execute its growth strategy through acquisitions, broadening its product suite, and expanding the scope of its share in existing and new markets.
Founded in 2006, GSoft aims to help teams and organizations map their available skills, develop talents and accelerate growth to create more fulfilling and productive workplaces. The platform enables companies to manage their digital transformation with ShareGate peacefully, helps managers contribute to their team’s performance, engagement and recognition with Officevibe, and facilitates simplified and personalized onboarding experiences for new employees with Softstart.
Speaking about the fundraising, Co-founder & CEO of GSoft, Simon De Baene, said:
It’s the right time to take GSoft to the next level and continue to build and grow our company so that it can thrive for decades to come. With the support of CDPQ, we have the financial means to seize more of the opportunities we see in the market.
GSoft initially operated as a software development services company, then later started building its solutions focused on employee experience. It closed its services business in 2017 to focus on its proprietary products. The company has made a suite of software offerings since then. Its products include capabilities for Microsoft 365 management, employee onboarding, skills development, and learning management from Didacte, among others.
Executive Vice-President, Caisse, focused on the Quebec market, Kim Thomassin, commented:
What we also want to bring to Simon and his team is our expertise and our network. We want to grow the business and identify opportunities together for acquisitions.
GSoft’s team includes more than 400 passionate employees united around a purpose: to enable people to work at their best, which meets a growing need since its software makes a difference for tens of thousands of companies in more than 100 countries. The firm first acquired in February with Quebec City company Didacte, which offers a web-based learning management system.
The financing makes CDPQ the first external investor in GSoft. CDPQ is the largest shareholder in other Montreal-based tech companies, including CGI and Lightspeed Commerce. As of December 2022, the firm said its net assets totalled $402 billion CAD.
