Ontra Announces 91% Revenue Growth in 2021, Extending Its Lead in AI-driven Contract Automation and Intelligence
Ontra accelerates investment in its contract intelligence platform and deepens bench of leadership talent following a $200M raise led by Blackstone and Battery Ventures
San Francisco, March 2, 2022 – Ontra, the leading provider of contract automation and intelligence for the world’s most prominent asset management firms, today announced 91% revenue growth and 72% customer growth in 2021. 2021 also marked significant growth for Ontra’s global business. Its European leg grew by 137% and its Asia Pacific business grew by 192%.
Ontra’s momentum is fueled by last October’s $200 million Series B funding round led by Blackstone Growth (BXG) and Battery Ventures. The company is leveraging the funds to increase investment in the artificial intelligence that powers Insight, its newest offering for fund obligation management. In conjunction with the fundraise, Paul Morrissey, Managing Director at Blackstone, and Mike Paulus, founder of Assurance, joined Ontra’s board of directors.
“2021 was a momentous year for Ontra as we experienced growth across every aspect of the business—revenue, customers, employees and product lines,” said Troy Pospisil, Founder and CEO of Ontra. “In 2022, we will double down on our investment in AI, add more fuel to global market expansion and strengthen our position as the de facto standard for contract automation and intelligence in the financial services industry.”
Empowering Businesses with Human-in-the-Loop Technology
Ontra tailors its solution to address the specific needs of private asset management firms where speed and efficiency are critical. With its AI-based SaaS offering and a global network of 500+ highly-trained lawyers, Ontra dramatically reduces the time and expense required to negotiate NDAs and other routine documents. Utilizing an innovative combination of subject matter experts and machine learning, Ontra is leading an emerging human-in-the-loop (HITL) trend. According to Gartner, HITL will account for 30% of new legal tech by 2025.
Insight: A Fast Start
Last March, Ontra launched Insight, an AI-driven software solution that empowers fund managers to comply with the complex legal obligations owed to their LPs. Insight allows users to organize, benchmark and proactively manage these obligations from a single platform. Since its launch, Insight has garnered more than 40 customers, representing over $1 trillion in AUM—including leading firms such as AllianceBernstein, Blackstone, Silver Lake and L Catterton.
“We built Insight because customers told us they needed a better way to manage the growing number of obligations owed to their LPs,” said Miles Chan, Vice President and General Manager of Insight. “This new product has struck a chord. We’ve seen adoption across the full spectrum of asset management, from the world’s latest asset managers to first-time growth equity and VC funds. Based on this validation, we plan to release new functionality in the coming year, allowing our customers to bolster compliance programs, stay ahead of regulation and strengthen investor relationships.”
Key Hires and Strategic Growth
The company has also made significant investments in senior leadership to support the organization’s strategic growth plans.
As VP of Engineering, Chi Hoang will drive product development and expand Ontra’s R&D department. Hoang brings over 20 years of successful software development and leadership experience to Ontra. He spent more than five years at Zuora, most recently as the company’s VP of Engineering. Before that, he held leadership roles at Groupon, Cisco, Netflix and Oracle.
As Chief Marketing Officer, Justin Shriber will lead the company’s efforts to accelerate growth, broaden awareness and increase demand for its solutions. An industry veteran, Shriber most recently served as CMO at People.ai. Previously he led global sales and marketing organizations at Oracle and LinkedIn.
In addition to strategic leadership hires, Ontra’s freelancer lawyer network grew by over 90% in 2021.
About Ontra
Ontra is the global leader in Contract Automation and Intelligence for private asset management firms. The Ontra platform combines AI-enabled software with a worldwide network of highly-trained lawyers to modernize recurring legal workflows. Ontra’s solutions improve all aspects of the contract lifecycle—from negotiating and processing routine contracts to tracking obligations in complex agreements. Ultimately, Ontra reduces the time, expense, and risk associated with contract management, freeing its customers to focus on other strategic priorities.
Ontra is headquartered in San Francisco, with global operations across North America, Europe, and Asia. Learn more at https://www.ontra.ai.