• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechFuture of Work

What You Should Know About the IPO From This Oracle and SAP Rival

By
Heather Clancy
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Heather Clancy
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 9, 2016, 1:11 PM ET
A logo sign outside of the headquarters of Coupa in San Mateo, California on January 24, 2016.
FEG3DJ A logo sign outside of the headquarters of Coupa in San Mateo, California on January 24, 2016.Alamy Stock Photo

And then there were three.

Coupa Software, a specialist in software for managing corporate spending on everything from travel to office supplies, has officially filed plans to raise $75 million in an initial public offering.

Hints that the company was preparing its prospectus emerged in early July. The company plans to trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol COUP, with Morgan Stanley (MS) serving as lead underwriter.

That would make it the third business software company to brave the public markets so far this year. Twilio (TWLO), a maker of cloud communications software used by the likes of Coca-Cola (KO), paved the way with its successful debut in June. Big data firm Talend (TLND), which counts Air France and Citi (C) as clients, followed about one month later in late July. Both companies priced their offers above expectations.

As was the case with Twilio, 10-year-old Coupa is a so-called “unicorn”—a private company valued at more than $1 billion. The company has raised around $165 million privately, including an $80 million round in June 2015. Among its bigger backers are Mohr Davidow Ventures (16.3% pre-IPO stake), Battery Ventures (16.2%), El Dorado Ventures (13.9%), BlueRun Ventures (12.7%), and Crosslink Ventures (11.1%). T. Rowe Price Associates led its latest round, along with Iconiq Capital and Premji Invest.

Coupa sells so-called e-procurement software that helps finance teams control spending and, in theory, negotiate better terms for buying everything from janitorial supplies to information technology.

According to its S1 registration, Coupa generated approximately $84 million in its 2016 fiscal year ended Jan. 31. For the six months ended July 31, it recorded $60.3 million in sales. It’s running at a loss: $46.2 million for fiscal year 2016 and $24.3 million for the first six months of the current one. (Both of those losses, however, were smaller than the year-earlier comparisons.)

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily technology newsletter.

Here are three other revelations from a quick perusal of Coupa’s IPO registration:

  1. It’s adding customers slowly. Coupa’s count is hovering around 460 companies, including Swiss Re, Williams-Sonoma, Salesforce (CRM), Land O’Lakes, and Sanofi. Its software is used to manage about $250 billion in corporate spending, and Coupa estimates its clients have saved more than $8 billion cumulatively. It’s worth noting that Coupa’s customer count has been just below 500 for more than a year. The company cites long “unpredictable” sales cycles as a potential risk factor.
  2. It’s fighting some pretty stiff competition. Founded by two Oracle (ORCL) executives, Coupa’s main rivals are SAP (SAP) (through its Ariba and Concur divisions) and Oracle. Both have better brand recognition and bigger marketing budgets. Coupa is also likely to face competition from the cadre of software startups cropping up to offer financial management and corporate planning applications, including Workday (WDAY).
  3. It’s banking heavily on international expansion. Less than one-third of Coupa’s revenue (29%) comes from sales outside of the United States. In order to serve multi-national customers, the company will need to build its expertise in this area.
About the Author
By Heather Clancy
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Latest in Tech

Sam Altman looks down and to the side, frowning.
AIOpenAI
Sam Altman says he’s ‘0%’ excited to be CEO of a public company as OpenAI drops hints about an IPO: ‘In some ways I think it’d be really annoying’
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 19, 2025
14 hours ago
AIDebt
AI hyperscalers have room for ‘elevated debt issuance’ — even after their recent bond binge, BofA says
By Jason MaDecember 19, 2025
15 hours ago
Late Apple cofounder Steve Jobs
SuccessCareers
Steve Jobs sold his Volkswagen to raise $1,300 for Apple’s first computer. He became a millionaire just two years later at 23
By Emma BurleighDecember 19, 2025
15 hours ago
Yann LeCun smiles and adjusts his glasses
AIVenture Capital
AI whiz Yann LeCun is already targeting a $3.5 billion valuation for his new startup—and it hasn’t even launched yet
By Dave SmithDecember 19, 2025
15 hours ago
David Baszucki with his thumbs up
SuccessCareer Advice
Roblox CEO David Baszucki went from window cleaner to billionaire tech leader. He says a secret to success has been trusting his gut
By Preston ForeDecember 19, 2025
15 hours ago
Graphite team standing in an office
AICoding
Exclusive: Cursor acquires code review startup Graphite as AI coding competition heats up
By Beatrice NolanDecember 19, 2025
16 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
The $38 trillion national debt is to blame for over $1 trillion in annual interest payments from here on out, CRFB says
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 17, 2025
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
AI
Meta’s 28-year-old billionaire prodigy says the next Bill Gates will be a 13-year-old who is ‘vibe coding’ right now
By Eva RoytburgDecember 19, 2025
21 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
As graduates face a ‘jobpocalypse,’ Goldman Sachs exec tells Gen Z they need to know their commercial impact 
By Preston ForeDecember 18, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
The scientist who helped create AI says it’s only ‘a matter of time’ before every single job is wiped out—even safer trade jobs like plumbing
By Orianna Rosa RoyleDecember 19, 2025
18 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Billionaire who sold two companies to Coca-Cola says he tries to persuade people not to become entrepreneurs: ‘Every single day, you can go bankrupt’
By Dave SmithDecember 19, 2025
17 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
‘This is a wacky number’: economists cry foul as new government data assumes zero housing inflation in surprising November drop
By Eva RoytburgDecember 18, 2025
2 days ago