UPDATED 21:13 EST / APRIL 16 2019

EMERGING TECH

Robotic process automation startup Leapwork raises $10M

Danish company Leapwork A/S is the latest startup in the red-hot robotic process automation market to catch the eye of venture capitalists.

The company, which exited stealth in 2017, said today it has closed on a $10 million Series A financing led by DN Capital and e.ventures.

That might seem like mere pocket change next to the hundreds of millions raised by Leapwork’s RPA rivals such as Automation Anywhere Inc. and UiPath Inc. But the Danish firm still believes it can take on those better-funded competitors thanks to the simplicity of its automation tools.

Whereas its rivals’ tools are designed to be used exclusively by developers, Leapwork targets nontechnical workers with its RPA software, which involves using software “robots” to observe workflows in common business applications and then deduce ways to automate repetitive tasks.

Instead of a code-based platform, Leapwork offers an entirely visual system with a simple user interface that enables normal workers to automate numerous mundane tasks that would otherwise take hours to perform manually. The interface has a similar learning curve to, say, Excel or PowerPoint and can save up to 75% of a worker’s time, the company said.

It’s noteworthy that Leapwork isn’t trying to take on Automation Anywhere or UiPath directly, but instead sees its tools as a complementary solution for situations when those code-based platforms prove to be limiting. That’s because many of its existing customers also use its rival’s services, company officials told TechCrunch.

Even so, Leapwork reckons its found a niche for itself with tasks such as software testing, data migration and RPA in finance and healthcare. The company also boasts a global presence with offices in the U.S., U.K., Denmark, India and Belarus. That presence, along with today’s funding, should be enough to help Leapwork grow its business and become a more serious force in RPA.

“About half of our business comes from the U.S. and this investment will enable us to serve those customers better, as well as reaching new ones,” Leapwork Chief Executive Officer Christian Brink Frederiksen said in a statement.

Image: Leapwork

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