SendGrid

SendGrid was founded in 2009 by Isaac Saldana, Jose Lopez, and Tim Jenkins.{{cite web |url=https://thenextweb.com/entrepreneur/2013/05/16/startup-stories-sendgrid-shares-its-passion-for-fixing-email-video/ |title=Startup Stories: SendGrid shares its passion for fixing email |author=Brad McCarty |date=May 16, 2013 |publisher=The Next Web |accessdate=August 13, 2013}}{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/01/17/bessemer-leads-21m-round-in-cloud-based-email-delivery-and-management-service-sendgrid/ |title=Bessemer Leads 21m Round In Cloud-Based Email Delivery And Management Service SendGrid |author=Leena Rao |date=January 17, 2012 |publisher=TechCrunch |accessdate=August 13, 2013}} Later, it was incubated through the Techstars accelerator program.{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2009/08/06/techstars-incubator-hatches-10-new-companies/ |title=TechStars Incubator Hatches 10 New Companies |author= |date=August 6, 2009 |publisher=TechCrunch |accessdate=August 13, 2013}}{{cite web |url=http://readwrite.com/2009/09/30/techstars-investor-day-hits-a#awesm=~obNWKNcC2fuEQE |title=TechStars Investor Day Hits a Home Run |author=Dana Oshiro |date=September 30, 2009 |publisher=ReadWrite |accessdate=August 13, 2013}} By December 2009, the company announced it had raised $750,000 in a funding round led by Highway 12 Ventures. Other participating investors included SoftTech VC, FF Angel, and TechStars founder David Cohen.

In April 2010, the email software-as-a-service (SaaS) company received $5 million in Series A round funding from Foundry Group, SoftTech VC, and Highway 12 Ventures, as well as individual investors including David Cohen, Scott Petry, Dave McClure, and Matt Mullenweg.{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-peweek-earlystage-roundup-idUSTRE6435OH20100504 |title=TechStars startup SendGrid raises $5 million |author=Alastair Goldfisher |date=May 4, 2010 |publisher=Reuters |accessdate=August 13, 2013}} Ryan McIntyre, the co-founder of Foundry, joined SendGrid's board of directors at this time as well.

In January 2012, SendGrid raised $21 million in Series B funding, led by Bessemer Venture Partners.{{cite web |url=http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2012/01/18/venture-capital-deals-60/ |title=Venture capital deals |author=Dan Primack |date=January 18, 2012 |publisher=CNN Money |accessdate=August 13, 2013}}{{cite web |author=Alicia Wallace |date=January 18, 2012 |title=Boulder startup SendGrid raises $21 million |url=http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_19762829 |accessdate=August 13, 2013 |publisher=The Denver Post}}{{cite web |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2012/01/17/sendgrid-raises-21m-in-vc-microsoft.html |title=SendGrid raises $21M in VC; Microsoft to partner |author= |date=January 17, 2012 |publisher=Denver Business Journal |accessdate=August 13, 2013}} In August 2012, SendGrid opened an office in Denver.{{cite web |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2012/08/10/boulders-sendgrid-opens-denver-office.html |title=Boulder's SendGrid opening Denver office |author=Greg Avery |date=August 10, 2012 |publisher=Denver Business Journal |accessdate=August 13, 2013}}{{Cite news|url=https://venturebeat.com/2016/11/30/sendgrid-33-million/|title=Email delivery platform SendGrid raises $33 million ahead of IPO in 2017|date=2016-11-30|work=VentureBeat|access-date=2018-08-01|language=en-US}} In December 2012, SendGrid partnered with Twilio to incorporate SMS and push notification services to its platform.{{cite web |url=https://venturebeat.com/2012/12/04/sendgrid-twilio-partners/ |title=Cloud tag team: SendGrid and Twilio partner on email, SMS, and voicemail solutions for the enterprise |author=Sean Ludwig |date=December 4, 2012 |publisher=VentureBeat |accessdate=August 13, 2013}}{{cite web |url=https://thenextweb.com/insider/2012/12/04/sendgrid-and-twilio-team-up-to-create-a-multi-messaging-platform-for-the-enterprise/?fromcat=all |title=SendGrid and Twilio team up to offer email, SMS, voice and push notifications for the enterprise market |author=Harrison Weber |date=December 4, 2012 |publisher=The Next Web |accessdate=August 13, 2013}}

In March 2013, the controversial firing of Adria Richards and the surrounding circumstances became known as Donglegate.{{cite news|work=The Guardian|title=The Internet Shaming of Lindsey Stone|date=21 February 2015 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/feb/21/internet-shaming-lindsey-stone-jon-ronson|last1=Ronson |first1=Jon }}{{cite news|title=Techie Adria Richards fired after tweeting about men's comments|publisher=CBS News|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/techie-adria-richards-fired-after-tweeting-about-mens-comments/}}{{cite news|url=http://www.denverpost.com/ci_22863310/sendgrid-employees-tweet-sets-off-firestorm|title=SendGrid employee's tweet sets off firestorm|publisher=The Denver Post|first=Andy|last=Vuong|date=March 25, 2013|accessdate=September 18, 2015}} In June 2013, SendGrid released its new email marketing service.{{cite web |url=https://venturebeat.com/2013/06/18/sendgrid-email-marketing/ |title=SendGrid launches email marketing service that undercuts MailChimp & Constant Contact |author=Sean Ludwig |date=June 18, 2013 |publisher=VentureBeat |accessdate=August 13, 2013}}{{cite web |url=http://gigaom.com/2013/06/18/sendgrid-picks-fight-with-heavyweight-mailchimp-in-email-marketing/ |title=SendGrid picks fight with heavyweight MailChimp in email marketing |author=Barb Darrow |date=June 18, 2013 |publisher=Gigaom |accessdate=August 13, 2013}}{{cite web |url=http://www.bizreport.com/2013/06/sendgrid-launches-email-service.html |title=SendGrid launches email service |author=Kristina Knight |date=June 18, 2013 |publisher=BizReport |accessdate=August 13, 2013}}

In September 2014, former Citrix executive Sameer Dholakia joined SendGrid as the CEO.{{Cite web|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/blog/boosters_bits/2014/09/sendgrid-replaces-franklin-as.html|title=SendGrid replaces Franklin as CEO|website=Denver Business Journal|first1=Greg|last1=Avery|date=September 30, 2014}} In December 2014, SendGrid raised $20 million in Series C funding. The series C round was led by a new investor Bain Capital Ventures. Current investors Bessemer Venture Partners and Foundry Group also participated.{{Cite news|date=2014-12-02|title=SendGrid Caches $20M Series C for Email Technology|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/DJFVW00120141202eac2anpf0|access-date=2020-12-21|issn=0099-9660}}

In November 2016, SendGrid raised $33 million in Series D funding. The round was led by Bain Capital Ventures, with participation from Bessemer Ventures and the Foundry Group.

SendGrid went public with a debut in the New York Stock Exchange on November 16, 2017.{{cite news |last=Chuang |first=Tamara |url=http://www.denverpost.com/2017/11/12/sendgrid-public-offer-debut-stock-exchange/ |title=As SendGrid preps for public debut, the IPO market appears receptive |work=The Denver Post |date=2017-11-12 |accessdate=2017-11-13 }} Twilio acquired SendGrid in February 2019.

In October 2018, Twilio announced plans to acquire SendGrid for $2 billion.{{Cite news|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/twilio-to-acquire-email-api-platform-sendgrid-for-2-billion/|title=Twilio to acquire email API platform SendGrid for $2 billion|last=Condon|first=Stephanie|date=15 October 2018|work=ZDNet|access-date=8 November 2018}} Twilio completed its acquisition of SendGrid on February 1, 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.twilio.com/press/releases/twilio-completes-acquisition-sendgrid|title=Twilio Completes Acquisition of SendGrid|date=1 February 2019|website=www.twilio.com|language=en|access-date=2 June 2020}}

SendGrid provides a cloud-based service that assists businesses with email delivery.{{cite web |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/sendgrid-2011-8 |title=SendGrid Is Sending 2 Billion Emails Per Month And Just Getting Started |author=Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry |date=August 2, 2011 |publisher=Business Insider |accessdate=August 13, 2013}}{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/06/29/inbox-alert-sendgrid-sends-45b-emails-for-60000-customers-20b-in-2012-alone/ |title=Inbox Alert: SendGrid Sends 45B Emails For 60,000 Customers, 20B In 2012 Alone |author=Ingrid Lunden |date=June 29, 2012 |publisher=TechCrunch |accessdate=August 13, 2013}} The service manages various types of email including shipping notifications, friend requests, sign-up confirmations, and email newsletters. It also handles Internet service provider (ISP) monitoring, domain keys, the sender policy framework (SPF), and feedback loops.{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2009/12/08/sendgrid-raises-750k-for-email-delivery-software/ |title=SendGrid Raises $750K for Email Delivery Software |author=Leena Rao |date=December 8, 2009 |publisher=TechCrunch |accessdate=August 13, 2013}}{{cite web |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/all-those-e-mails-from-pinterest-are-very-good-for-this-guy-2012-3 |title=All Those Emails From Pinterest Are Very Good For This Guy |author=Julie Bort |date=March 1, 2012 |publisher=Business Insider |accessdate=August 13, 2013}} Additionally, the company provides link tracking and open rate reporting. It also allows companies to track email opens, unsubscribes, bounces, and spam reports.{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/04/20/sendgrid-raises-5-million-sends-a-bajillion-e-mails/ |title=SendGrid Raises $5 Million, Sends A Bajillion Emails |author=Evelyn Rusli |date=April 20, 2010 |publisher=TechCrunch |accessdate=August 13, 2013}}

SendGrid offers a freemium version and a Lite Plan (pay-as-you-go), as well as three expanded levels of service: Essentials, Pro, and Premier.{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2011/05/10/email-delivery-system-sendgrid-announces-new-pricing-model-now-you-can-pay-as-you-go/ |title=Email Delivery System SendGrid Announces New Pricing Model, Now You Can Pay-As-You-Go |author=Rip Empson |date=May 10, 2011 |publisher=TechCrunch |accessdate=August 13, 2013}}

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• {{Official website|https://sendgrid.com/}}

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Category:Software companies established in 2009

Category:American companies established in 2009

Category:2009 establishments in Colorado

Category:Software companies based in Colorado

Category:Companies based in Boulder, Colorado

Category:Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange

Category:Email marketing software

Category:Companies based in Denver

Category:2017 initial public offerings

Category:Go (programming language) software

Category:2019 mergers and acquisitions

Category:Software companies of the United States

Category:Bain Capital companies