Portland, Oregon-based infrastructure automation company Puppet today announced a $ 40 million debt from BlackRock Investments.
CEO Yvonne Wassenaar says the company sees this debt as part of a longer-term relationship with BlackRock . "The interesting thing, and I think part of the reason why we decided to go with BlackRock, is that generally when you look at how they invest this is the first step of a long term relationship that we will have with them over time which has different elements to which we can draw upon as the company gets smaller, "Wassenaar told ProWellTech.
In terms of the agreement, instead of BlackRock taking a stake in the company, Puppet will refund the money. "We have borrowed a sum of money which we will repay over time. BlackRock has an observer position on the board of directors, and it is precisely because they are very interested in working with us on how to grow and accelerate the business, "said Wassenaar.
Puppet is in the process of rebuilding his executive team with Wassenaar on board about 18 months ago. Last year it involved industry veterans Erik Frieberg and Paul Heywood as CMO and CRO respectively. This year he hired former Cloud Foundry Foundation director Abby Kearns as CTO.
All these moves are aimed at a future IPO, says Wassenaar. "We're looking at how to progress in the end, ideally on a path to an IPO, and what it will take for Puppet on that trip," he said.
He points out that somehow the pandemic has forced companies to look more closely at automation solutions such as those provided by Puppet. "What is really interesting is [...] that the pandemic in many ways has put the wind on our sails in terms of the need for companies to automate and think about how they exploit and extend technologically in the future, "he said.
As Puppet continues to grow, she says that diversity is a key organizational value and that while the company has made progress from a gender perspective (as illustrated by the presence of her and Kearns in Suite C), they are still working to be more racially different.
"Where I believe we have a lot more work and there is a lot more attention right now is completing this further [gender diversity] from a racial point of view. And it is an area that I have dealt with personally and I am committed to making changes in the company as we move forward to support even greater racial diversity, "he said.
Previously, the company had raised nearly $ 150 million with the last $ 42 million round of the F Series in 2018, according to Crunchbase data. Previously, the company had grossed $ 22 million in debt financing in 2016, before Wassenaar joined.
