Robotic process automation provider Automation Anywhere Inc. has added another $290 million to its coffers through a Salesforce Ventures-led funding round it announced today. 

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and SoftBank Group Corp. chipped in too. SoftBank was the lead investor in Automation Anywhere’s previous $300 million round last November, which followed a $250 million raise just four months earlier.

The company’s valuation nearly quadrupled in that period, from $1.8 billion after that latter investment to $6.8 billion now. It’s a reflection of the massive opportunity venture capitalists see in RPA, which Gartner Inc. has ranked as the enterprise software market’s fastest-growing market. 

Automation Anywhere’s namesake RPA platform uses machine learning to handle repetitive tasks that normally require human workers. The software observes how employees carry out a given action, such as filling a form in a back-office accounting system, and learns to replicate the workflow automatically. Automation Anywhere delivers the core feature set together with additional capabilities like analytics to make the technology easier to use.

The company, which was founded in 2003, has leveraged its early start in the market to secure a position at the front of the supplier pack. Automation Anywhere employs more than 1,750 people worldwide and serves a customer base of 3,500 organizations, including major enterprises such as Mastercard Inc., Dell Technologies Inc. and Boston Scientific Corp.

The company didn’t say how it plans to use its new funding. But Automation Anywhere chief executive officer Mihir Shukla (pictured) was more forthcoming about his investment priorities in an April appearance on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE’s theCUBE livestreaming studio (below). 

“We continue to invest heavily in three areas,” Shukla said in the interview, which took place shortly after the company launched a free version of its platform. “First, our R&D investment continues to grow, especially in AI and making RPA accessible to millions.” Moreover, he said, “we are significantly investing in global expansion, we now have offices in 30 to 35 countries worldwide.”

Most notably, the CEO revealed that the company was weighing to spend some of its capital on buying other firms.

“We will carefully look at acquiring new technologies to make our digital labor platform more complete,” Shukla said. Although the executive spoke of acquisitions in plural, Automation Anywhere has bought only one startup since that interview, which means more deals could follow now that it has an additional $290 million to invest. 

Today’s funding comes shortly after rival UiPath Inc. revealed that it’s on track to become profitable next year. The $7 billion startup laid off 11% of its workforce last month in order to move closer to that goalpost.

Photo: SiliconANGLE