A corner of the software market known as robotic process automation has started experiencing rapid growth thanks to a surge in enterprise adoption. The valuations of the leading players are jumping in lockstep.

This fast-rising, and increasingly important, industry today hit a key milestone after UiPath Inc., one of those leading players, announced that it has passed $100 million in annual recurring revenue. The development could hold significance for the market segment on multiple levels.

It’s a long-held truism on Wall Street that a company should achieve $100 million in annual revenue before filing for an initial public offering. UiPath, which received a $1.1 billion valuation after raising $153 million in March, hasn’t indicated that it plans to hit the stock market in the foreseeable future. But from a longer-term perspective, the six-year-old company’s new milestone might bring more RPA companies another step closer toward eventual IPOs.

The announcement also provides some fresh insight into the rate at which adoption of the technology is growing. UiPath claims that it reacted the $100 million mark after increasing revenues by 238 percent in just the first half of 2018.  

Different organizations, including Fortune 500 companies, are adopting RPA software because it provides a more economical means of automating labor-intensive business tasks than legacy alternatives. Most of the solutions in this category are based on the same basic concept. They can observe how users interact with a business application, often using artificial intelligence, and then figure out how to perform repetitive parts of the workflow automatically.

UiPath’s software has been adopted by quite a few household names. The company listed NASA, LG Electronics Inc. and BMW Group among its newest customers in today’s announcement, adding that more than 1,500 organizations now use its platform.

Competitors are growing aggressively as well. Earlier this month, San Jose, California-based RPA provider Automation Anywhere Inc. closed $250 million in funding on a $1.8 billion valuation. The company boasts more than 1,000 customers, including Google LLC, General Motors Co. and Mastercard Inc.

Photo: UiPath