Missoula’s onX Secures $87.4M in Series B Funding
Picture courtesy onX: The onX team celebrating at Camp onX in Big Sky, MT in August 2022. Founded in 2009, onX is a pioneer in digital outdoor navigation, developing software that helps inform, inspire, and empower outdoor recreationists.
On Tuesday, October 4, 2022, Missoula-based onX announced a $87.4M Series B investment. The funding round was led by Summit Partners, which also led the company’s Series A financing in 2018, and includes participation from Steve Burke’s Madison Valley Partners and other existing investors. This growth investment will support onX as the company reimagines the outdoor experience and works to protect the landscapes that host recreational pursuits.
As a pioneer in outdoor digital navigation, onX creates mapping technology that helps inform, inspire, and empower millions of outdoor recreationists. The company’s suite of navigation apps includes three products – onX Hunt, onX Offroad, and onX Backcountry – each tailored to the adventure at hand. The apps put 852 million acres of public land, 550,000 miles of motorized trails, 10,000 detailed hikes and routes, 60,000 campgrounds and cabins, hundreds of layers, and more at users’ fingertips.
Through its suite of navigation apps, onXmaps help connect outdoor enthusiasts to shared public lands and seeks to “awaken the adventure in everyone.” Photo courtesy onX.
“The outdoor industry is thriving, and onX is meeting an essential need for adventurers,” said Steve Burke, Madison Valley Partners founding partner and former NBCUniversal CEO. “I have been an onX customer for years. I have watched the company establish its leadership in the hunting and outdoor industries by designing amazing customer experiences that connect people with the land. I’m looking forward to seeing onX continue working towards defining the future of mapping technology and how recreationalists of all types engage on that landscape.”
Over the course of the last four years, onX has increased annual recurring revenues 10x while growing its team by more than 300% – including a nearly five-fold increase in its engineering bench – to support continued expansion and enhancement of its product offering. Recent onX updates include CarPlay and Android Auto functionality, critical safety information such as wildfire and avalanche layers, and a popular series of Masterclasses that share tips for making the most of a day outdoors and building outdoor communities.
“When onX was founded, it changed the way many outdoorsmen and women navigate in the wild, and the company hasn’t slowed down,” said Colin Mistele, Managing Director at Summit Partners and onX Board Member. “We’ve been proud to work alongside the onX team over the last four years as the company has grown from a single product into a true platform business with an impressive consumer subscription base of outdoor enthusiasts across numerous recreational markets. With a data-driven approach and true connection to the community, we believe onX is well poised to continue reimagining the outdoor experience through its innovative navigation apps.”
onX has committed a percentage of its app sales to increase access to 150,000 acres of public land and to help build or restore 150 miles of trails by the end of 2023. To reach this goal, onX offers grants to organizations that help preserve and create access to outdoor adventures. The company also lends its data analysis and research to support key legislation, and brings together different perspectives to find creative solutions to protect our shared spaces. onX recently hosted the Shared Ground symposium, an industry-first alliance of diverse outdoor recreation and land management groups. The meeting sparked three unique stewardship projects that onX will help bring to fruition.
By connecting adventurers to the landscape, and by using its platform to share responsible recreation practices, onX hopes to awaken the adventurer inside everyone – and to inspire users to help protect outdoor spaces for future generations.
“What sets onX apart is our ability to create products that empower recreationists to explore new landscapes and unite them to protect access to our natural world,” said Laura Orvidas, onX CEO. “It’s this combination that fuels our impressive customer traction. This investment positions us to expand our offerings even further and continue changing the way outdoor enthusiasts experience the world around them.”
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