Beekeeper acquired by LumApps Group
This move establishes the LumApps Group as the clear leader in the Intranet Packaged Solutions (IPS) market — by revenue, user count, and active licenses, while redefining the category beyond IPS with the industry’s first full employee experience solution catering to both desk-based and frontline employees.
The combined company will serve over 7 million users across 2,000+ clients in all major industries. With c. $150 million in recurring revenue and a global team of over 600 employees across North America, Europe and Asia – including a fast-growing presence in Japan – the platform is set for accelerated growth.
A new leadership board manages the combined company. Sébastien Ricard serves as the Group CEO, with Élie Mélois as Managing Director, Chief Product and Technology Officer, and former Beekeeper CEO Cristian Grossmann as Managing Director and Chief Revenue Officer.
LumApps has accelerated its growth through four strategic acquisitions since 2021. This purposeful M&A strategy will remain central as the group continues to evolve and consolidate the market, which is shaped by trends like AI adoption, hybrid work and digital-first communication. With a $10 billion total addressable market growing at 15% annually, the combined company aims to scale its client base significantly, targeting 100 million users by 2030.
Unicorn valuation
In 2024, Bridgepoint Europe VII made a strategic investment as primary investor in LumApps, in a deal valued at $650m. After the acquisition of Beekeeper the combined company is valued at more than $1 billion. ETH Zurich spin-off Beekeeper was founded in 2012. Swiss investors who backed the company along its way include Swisscanto Invest, Swisscom Ventures, Alpana Ventures, Swiss Post, SICTIC, Verve, EGS Beteiligungen and b2venture.
LumApps started its journey in its Lyon office headquarters in 2012 and expanded into the United States in 2017. Today the company has offices in Austin, Barcelona, Hamburg, Lyon, London, Paris, and Tokyo. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to complete in July 2025. LumApps will continue to be majority owned by funds managed by Bridgepoint.
The combined organization will operate under the name LumApps Group. While both the Beekeeper and LumApps brands will continue to exist in the near term, the unified name reflects the shared vision to create the most comprehensive employee experience platform on the market.
“Beekeeper has built a game-changing platform for frontline employees worldwide, driving engagement and productivity,” said Sébastien Ricard, CEO and Co-Founder of LumApps. “Together, LumApps and Beekeeper will support all employees, everywhere, in this new age of work. I’m thrilled to welcome the Beekeeper team to the LumApps family.”
“LumApps redefined employee engagement through innovation and AI,” said Cris Grossmann, CEO and Co-Founder of Beekeeper. “Both companies share a vision and a passion of empowering employees. This partnership represents a bold move that will transform our industry, putting the success of desk and frontline employees at the center of everything we do.”
“We are incredibly proud to back visionary founders like Sébastien, Elie, and Cris as they scale transformative products and build global category leaders,” said David Nicault, Partner & Head of Technology, and Nadia Cid, Director at Bridgepoint. “LumApps and Beekeeper bring together two highly complementary platforms, redefining what’s possible in employee experience technology. With product leadership, AI-native architecture, and global scale, the combined company is ideally positioned to lead a category that’s more relevant than ever, connecting and empowering employees across industries.”
(Press release / SK)
Photo L-R: Sébastian Ricard, Élie Mélois, Christian Grossmann