A little-known Fayetteville technology company just landed a pile of cash to help it grow.
What's happening: Tax and regulatory compliance software firm Zenwork, developer of the service Tax1099, last week raised $162.5 million in minority investment from Boston-based Spectrum Equity.
Why it matters: The investment signals confidence in a technology company conceived and built in Northwest Arkansas.
*Driving the news: * The pandemic helped turn more of the U.S. workforce into part-time contractors, a trend already predicted to be as high as 52% by 2023. Businesses of all sizes use contractors and Zenwork's Tax1099 software decreases time spent filing 1099s (a contractor's version of a W-2 showing income earned).
Context: Founded in 2011 as Tech Atlantis, Zenwork's software is focused on streamlining tax compliance and regulatory reporting. It's part of the so-called RegTech (regulation technology) industry.
*By the numbers: * More than 100,000 small businesses in the U.S. use its services, including about 30,000 certified public accounting firms, Singh said.
*Of note: *Spectrum Equity, which specializes in Internet, software and information services companies, has previously invested in Ancestry.com, Survey Monkey and GrubHub, to name a few.
*What to watch: *Zenwork employs about 80 people between its main office in Fayetteville and another office in India. Singh said that number will likely double in the next year.
Article written by Worth Sparkman, Axios.