Battery Ventures, a multi-stage investment firm focused on technology and innovation worldwide, recently announced in a press release that it has invested $20 million in Avalara, a provider of sales tax automation services in the cloud.

As the result of the investment, Battery Ventures Partner, Chelsea Stoner, has joined the Avalara Board of Directors. Avalara was initially funded by angel investors including The Benaroya Company and Pioneer Venture Partners, and has received additional funding from Sageview Capital.

"Avalara exemplifies what we look for in companies as investors: a practical solution to a pressing problem," said Chelsea Stoner, Battery Ventures Partner. "The increasing complexity of sales and use tax regulation has amplified the need for Avalara's SaaS (News - Alert)-based offering, as it's truly a pain point businesses can't afford to ignore. Avalara's technology and integration capabilities, along with their impressive customer base, have powered them into the leadership position in this billion dollar market. We believe Avalara has massive potential and we look forward to working with the team to achieve it."

Avalara offers integrations with more financial, e-commerce, point-of-sales and mobile applications than any other transactional-tax solution on the market. The company’s tax decision engine processes more that 1.7 million tax calculations every day. Avalara files more than 500,000 tax returns every year for more than 25,000 licensed users throughout the U.S., Canada and abroad.

"Avalara has grown significantly over the past few years and we think the market for our SaaS solution will soon mirror that of payroll automation," said Avalara founder and CEO Scott McFarlane. "While we were not actively looking for funding, we are confident Battery's investment will help Avalara quickly tap the huge opportunity we see ahead of us. Their impressive record and solid understanding of the SaaS business model make them the right partner to help build the next phase of our business and create a world-class company."

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