Pilot Revenue, Valuation, Funding & Investors

Pilot is valued at $1.3B as of January 2021, a 30.5x multiple on its last reported $43M revenue.

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Last Pilot valuation

$1.3B

Series C · Jan 2021

Last Pilot funding round

$111M

Series C · Jan 2021

Pilot revenue

$43M

Series C · Jan 2021

Key investors in Pilot

  • Index Ventures
  • Stripe
  • Sequoia Capital
  • SV Angel
  • CRV
  • Amex Ventures

Pilot Overview

About Pilot

Pilot is a San Francisco-headquartered finance platform delivering bookkeeping, tax preparation, and fractional CFO services to startups since 2017. The company automates accrual-basis accounting with integrations to QuickBooks Online, Xero, Stripe, and Brex, generating real-time P&L statements and cash flow forecasts. Serving over 5,000 clients like Notion and Brex, Pilot employs CPAs across the United States and Philippines, processing billions in annual transactions.


Founded

2016

HQ

United StatesSan Francisco, CA

Website

pilot.com

Status

Privately held

Customer focus

B2B

Revenue model

Subscription

Revenue

$43M (Jan 2021)

Valuation

$1.3B (Jan 2021)

Pilot Valuation

Pilot is currently valued at $1.3B, based on its Series C in January 2021.

The $111M round was led by Bezos Expeditions, Sequoia Capital and Whale Rock Capital Management, with participation from Index Ventures and Stripe.

Pilot valuation by funding round

Pilot valuation by funding round
DateStageValuationRevenue Multiple
Jan 2021Series C$1.3B30.5x

Pilot Revenue

Pilot's latest recorded revenue is $43M, as of its Series C in January 2021. At a $1.3B valuation, that implies a 30.5x revenue multiple.

Pilot revenue by funding round

Pilot revenue and valuation multiple by funding round
DateRevenue *ValuationRevenue MultipleStage
Jan 2021$43M$1.3B30.5xSeries C

* Revenue (or ARR) figures are the values recorded alongside each funding round. Typically run-rate revenue at the time of the deal, or a reported LTM (last 12 months) revenue.

Pilot Funding History

Pilot has raised a total of $172M across 4 funding rounds.

Pilot's first fundraising round was a $3M seed round in February 2017. The most recent completed round was a $111M Series C in January 2021.

Pilot funding rounds

Pilot funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsRaisedValuationDeal Summary
Jan 2021Series CBezos Expeditions (lead); Sequoia Capital (lead); Whale Rock Capital Management (lead); Index Ventures; Stripe$111M$1.3BPilot is the largest provider of back office services for startups and small businesses in the US, offering bookkeeping and related services to enable SMBs to focus on growth. On January 26, 2021, Pilot raised a Series C round led by Sequoia Capital, with participation from Bezos Expeditions, Index Ventures, Stripe, and Whale Rock Capital Management, at a $600M valuation. The announcement highlighted $60M raised in this round, bringing total funding to $120M, to expand services providing 'big-company superpowers' for SMBs. A follow-on Series C-II extension on March 26, 2021, added $40M from the same investors including Bezos Expeditions, Whale Rock, Index Ventures, and Sequoia, doubling the valuation to $1.2B and increasing the overall Series C to $100M. This positioned Pilot as a fintech unicorn focused on modernizing back office operations amid rising demand for digital SMB finance solutions, accelerated by COVID. Pilot had announced crossing 1,000 customers by 2020. Total funding across seven rounds reached $161.3M.
Apr 2019Series BIndex Ventures (lead); Stripe (lead); Amex Ventures; Authentic Ventures$43M-Pilot is a San Francisco-based fintech company founded in 2017 that provides bookkeeping, tax preparation, CFO services, and back-office financial tools for startups and small to medium-sized businesses, combining software automation with dedicated accounting teams. The company matches clients with experienced accountants while leveraging scalable technology to handle financial operations. In April 2019, Pilot raised $43 million in its Series B funding round led by Index Ventures and Stripe, with participation from Amex Ventures and Authentic Ventures, aimed at scaling operations and entering new markets. This followed a $15.3 million Series A in March 2018 led by Index Ventures and a $3.3 million seed in February 2017. Pilot achieved unicorn status later with a January/March 2021 Series C round totaling $100-110.5 million led by Bezos Expeditions, Whale Rock Capital, and Sequoia Capital, reaching a $1.2 billion post-money valuation and bringing total funding to over $160 million at that time. By 2021, Pilot reportedly had around $33M in ARR and served about 1,000 customers. The company faces competition in the fintech bookkeeping space but benefits from high-profile investors including Index Ventures across multiple rounds.
Mar 2018Series AIndex Ventures (lead)$15M-Pilot raised $15.3 million in Series A funding led by Index Ventures in March 2018. The company provides bookkeeping services for startups and small businesses, combining software with human accountants to manage back office operations. Founded by Waseem Daher, Jeff Arnold, and Jessica McKellar—entrepreneurs previously known for building Zulip, which Dropbox acquired in 2014—Pilot was in early growth stage at the time of this Series A. The funding was intended to expand the team and enhance the platform's capabilities as the company pursued its mission to modernize bookkeeping for small businesses.
Feb 2017SeedSV Angel; WndrCo; Nitesh Banta; Hydrazine Capital; Max Altman; CRV; South Park Commons$3M-Pilot raised $3.3 million in a seed round in February 2017 from investors including CRV, Hydrazine Capital, Max Altman, Nitesh Banta, South Park Commons, SV Angel, and WndrCo to kickstart operations and develop its initial product offering. The company provides bookkeeping, tax, and CFO services for startups and small businesses. Founded in 2017 by Waseem Daher, Jeff Arnold, and Jessica McKellar, Pilot combines software automation with experienced accountants to handle back-office financial tasks.

Who has invested in Pilot?

14 investors have backed Pilot across its funding rounds, including Index Ventures, Stripe, Sequoia Capital, SV Angel, CRV and Amex Ventures.

Lead investors include Bezos Expeditions, Sequoia Capital, Whale Rock Capital Management, Index Ventures and Stripe.


Pilot Investors

Investors in Pilot by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check
Index VenturesUnited KingdomLondon3LeadMar 2018
StripeUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA2LeadApr 2019
SV AngelUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA1ParticipantFeb 2017
WndrCoUnited StatesLos Angeles, CA1ParticipantFeb 2017
Nitesh BantaUnited StatesNew York City, NY1ParticipantFeb 2017
Hydrazine CapitalUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA1ParticipantFeb 2017
Amex VenturesUnited StatesNew York City, NY1ParticipantApr 2019
Max AltmanUnited StatesUnited States1ParticipantFeb 2017
Sequoia CapitalUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA1LeadJan 2021
Bezos ExpeditionsUnited StatesWashington, DC1LeadJan 2021
Authentic VenturesUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA1ParticipantApr 2019
Whale Rock Capital ManagementUnited StatesBoston, MA1LeadJan 2021

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Pilot Competitors

Pilot competitors include listed companies like Miroku Jyoho Service and 74Software, and private ones like AppZen, Lukka, TaxBit and CaptivateIQ.

Public and private companies comparable to Pilot
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
Miroku Jyoho ServiceJapanJapanPublicly listed$315M$58M$396M1.1x
AppZenUnited StatesSan Jose, CAPrivate--$1.3B-
LukkaUnited StatesNew York City, NYPrivate--$1.3B-
TaxBitUnited StatesSalt Lake City, UTPrivate--$1.3B-
74SoftwareFranceFrancePublicly listed$814M$112M$1.3B1.8x
CaptivateIQUnited StatesSan Francisco, CAPrivate$44M-$1.3B28.4x

Pilot Public Comps

Pilot is still privately-owned, but its public comps include TKC, 74Software, SMS, Freee, FESCO Group, Zensar Technologies, LegalZoom, BLS International, McMillan Shakespeare and BlackLine.

Last FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
TKC$537M$136M2.0x2.0x7.8x-
74Software$814M$112M1.9x1.8x13.7x9.8x
SMS$416M($63M)3.3x3.2x(21.9x)19.9x
Freee$214M$6M6.3x4.8x237.7x65.4x
FESCO Group$6.7B$296M0.0x0.0x0.5x0.7x
Zensar Technologies$593M$105M1.3x1.3x7.5x8.1x
LegalZoom$756M$74M1.2x1.1x12.1x4.8x
BLS International$313M$89M2.9x2.6x10.0x9.4x

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Common questions about Pilot

When was Pilot founded?Pilot was founded in 2016.
Where is Pilot headquartered?Pilot is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, United States.
Is Pilot publicly listed?No, Pilot is a private, VC-backed company.
What is Pilot's valuation?Pilot was last valued at $1.3B in its Series C in January 2021.
How much funding has Pilot raised?Pilot has raised $172M across 4 funding rounds.
What was Pilot's last funding round?Pilot's last funding round was a $111M Series C in January 2021, led by Bezos Expeditions, Sequoia Capital and Whale Rock Capital Management.
Who are Pilot's investors?Pilot's investors include Index Ventures, Stripe, SV Angel, WndrCo, Nitesh Banta, Hydrazine Capital, Amex Ventures, Max Altman, Sequoia Capital, Bezos Expeditions and 4 others.
What is Pilot's revenue?Pilot's latest recorded revenue is $43M (January 2021).
What is Pilot's revenue multiple?Pilot's latest valuation implies a 30.5x revenue multiple ($1.3B valuation on $43M of revenue).
Which companies are comparable to Pilot?Companies comparable to Pilot include Miroku Jyoho Service, AppZen, Lukka, TaxBit, 74Software and CaptivateIQ.

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