Huddle IPO Pending as Cloud Collaboration Software Maker Raises $51 Million in Funding Round

Cloud collaboration software maker Huddle is setting itself up for an initial public offering (IPO) as the developer has landed some $51 million in Series D venture funding, more than doubling its total backing to some $85 million.

The funding round, led by Zouk Capital along with Hermes GPE and existing investors, will be used to finance new versions of Huddle’s software for Google (GOOG) Android and Apple (AAPL) iOS, with one-third of the money slotted for engineering and a doubling of its product team, one-third to broaden sales in the U.S. and Europe and the remainder allocated to marketing, according to Andy McLoughlin, Huddle strategy and product development head and co-founder.

“Our plan will be that this will take us to an IPO,” McLoughlin told Bloomberg. “Even though we’re at a pretty good scale now and have a good center of gravity in the U.K., we’re still relatively small in the U.S.,” he said, adding that the company will focus on “brand building.”

Huddle’s top brass apparently believes all the requisite markers are in place to signal a wide road ahead. The vendor said its enterprise sales have tripled through September of this year compared to the same time last year and that to date it has landed seven of its 10 largest contracts. In addition, Huddle has opened new offices in San Francisco, London, New York and Washington D.C. with an eye to growing its U.S. business.

Government clients for its cloud-based file sharing software include NASA, the U.K.’s National Health Service and Office of the Secretary of Defense and Greenland’s government, reflecting the company’s emphasis on sales to large enterprises and government agencies. Huddle is trying to gain security clearance in the U.S. as part of an expansion of its sales efforts, McLoughlin told Bloomberg.

Huddle’s enterprise client lineup includes Grant Thornton, Baker Tilly International, P&G, Keolis, Williams Lea, Driscoll’s and Panasonic Europe.

Nathan Medlock, a Zouk partner, will join Huddle’s board as part of the funding round.