From left: Co-founders Paul Vonderscher, Antoine Puymirat and Jérémy Queroy. Image: Rémi Barthas/Planity
With a strong presence in Germany and Belgium, the French start-up will recruit 300 new employees as it plans to infuse AI into its appointments platform.
Paris-based appointment booking software start-up Planity has raised €45m in a Series C round that puts it on path to becoming a European giant in the online beauty tech space.
Founded in 2017 by Antoine Puymirat, Jérémy Queroy and Paul Vonderscher, Planity is a popular beauty appointment booking service in France. With a significant presence in Germany and Belgium, Planity says more than 10m appointments are made on its platform each month.
The start-up raised €30m in 2021 and the latest funding announced today (20 February) brings total investment to date to nearly €100m. The round was backed by InfraVia Capital Partners, Crédit Mutuel Innovation, Revaia and Bpifrance Digital Venture.
“This fundraising is further proof of the relevance of our model and the confidence of the financial community,” said Puymirat (originally in French), who is the president of Planity.
“We are very pleased to be able to count on the support of our historic shareholders and the support of InfraVia as we approach a pivotal stage in our history. Having secured a leading position in France and quickly established a significant presence in the German and Belgian markets, we will focus on replicating our national success there.”
Planity said it intends to use the latest funding to invest in its European expansion, to recruit 300 new employees (it currently employs 400) and to improve its platform by integrating conversational AI.
According to the company, more than 40,000 establishments use its platform, including 2,000 in Germany and 1,000 in Belgium. It reached €40m in annual recurring revenue last year, a 60pc increase over the previous year, as it now eyes the southern European market.
Guillaume Santamaria, partner at InfraVia Capital, said (also originally in French) that the model developed by Planity and effectively implemented across France, Germany and Belgium corresponds to a “strong trend” in the sector on a global scale.
“The company’s managers and their teams can therefore legitimately have great ambitions. We are delighted to participate in the development of an innovative solution that transforms the daily lives of tens of thousands of professionals and millions of consumers.”
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