Bellevue startup Esper raises $60M, plans to open Bay Area office

Bellevue-based intelligent device startup Esper is gobbling up office space and growing its headcount.

The company, which announced a $60 million Series C on Monday, has grown its physical footprint from about 2,000 square feet to over 12,000 square feet over the past year in Bellevue, where it has office space right off Interstate 90 at Trilogy I-90 in Eastgate. Co-founder and CEO Yadhu Gopalan, Esper said he has already signed an agreement to take over 5,000 more square feet in the same building in January.

"We're pretty confident on the growth that we need," Gopalan said. "We're looking to expand in the future."

Gopalan added that Esper has about 150 total employees, about 70 of whom are based in the Seattle area. He said the company could easily double its headcount in a year. Gopalan said the company plans to open a roughly 1,000-square-foot office in the Bay Area in the next month or so.

On its website, Esper has open roles in engineering, sales and marketing. With the funding, Gopalan said a big focus for the company will be promoting its brand.

Esper, founded in 2018, works with clients to help manage and update internet-connected devices like kiosks. Its clients include Spire Health, which uses Esper to manage its patient monitoring devices, and Inspire Fitness, which uses Esper for its fitness products. The startup also works with clients in education, restaurants and retail, among others.

The company has raised $100 million to date, including a $30 million Series B in May. According to Esper, the company has over 200 paying clients and over 2,000 developers using its technology.

Gopalan said Esper employees are generally drawn to the office because they feed off the energy of in-person work, but the company doesn't have any set rules about how many days employees have to work at the office.

Insight Partners led the round, while Scale Venture Partners, Madrona Venture Group and Root Ventures participated. Gopalan, who spent almost two decades at Microsoft and more than five years at Amazon, said the Puget Sound region has great talent.

"I've lived in the Puget Sound area since '94. Most of the team has grown up here. We really want to be a great part of the community," Gopalan said.