US-based tech start-up Superside has raised a $30 million ( approximately R483 million) Series A funding round, co-led by Prosus Ventures and Lugard Road Capital, along with existing investors Slack Fund and Acequia Capital.
According to the California-headquartered company, a significant portion of the funding will be used to help grow its workforce in SA.
The web-based company provides creative and design human resources to brands across the globe, enabling fast turnaround design, at scale.
Through its subscription model, Superside connects companies with a team of vetted designers and project managers to provide design work, which it says it does on a faster and more cost-effective basis than traditional creative agencies and freelance marketplaces.
Prosus Ventures is the early-stage venture capital investing arm of Naspers-owned Prosus, the global consumer internet group and one of the largest technology investors in the world.
“We have spent the last few years building a company with the top creatives from over 50 countries,” says Fredrik Thomassen, Superside co-founder and CEO.
“Our creative team members are highly-skilled, award-winning, proven designers and creatives in their local markets and are now doing amazing work with our customers globally. In return, our customers get access to the world’s best creative talent, with a diverse and global take on brand, creative and design across a number of disciplines. In a world where brands are vying for real distinction, we are providing an innovative approach that is desperately needed.”
Superside says it has seen significant growth in the last few years, working with brands such as Amazon, Salesforce and Cisco, which have been connected to diverse content and access to a global pool of talent.
The platform has 20% of its designers and a growing base of team members based in SA. It says it will use the funds to help increase its employees in the country.
The proceeds will also scale product and tech teams to build additional features, as well as attract more leading creatives across the globe. The company plans to hire close to 100 engineers in the next 12 months to further build out its design operations platform.
Superside also announced Mats Diedrichsen, former CMO of Delivery Hero, will join as a board member, and Sandeep Bakshi from Prosus Ventures will join the board as an observer.
Bakshi, head of European investments at Prosus Ventures, notes: “As the pandemic has accelerated the momentum of flexible and independent work, Superside is highly-attractive for creative team members, offering remote, flexible and high-paying jobs, allowing them to work with top brands globally.
“We believe Superside can usher in a new era of creative solutions for top companies globally, and are excited to partner with them on this vision."
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