Missoula tech company onX lands record $87M in venture capital

According to a press release from the company, the funding round was led by Summit Partners, which led the company’s Series A financing in 2018, and includes participation from Steve Burke’s Madison Valley Partners and other existing investors.

Founded in Missoula in 2009, onX developed an app that allows users to download topographical maps with other layers before they go out into the backcountry. Then, even when they are out of cell range, they can see land ownership and other layers in relation to where they are standing.

The company has also developed several other products, but its navigation apps include onX Hunt, onX Offroad and onX Backcountry.

The apps give users the ability to see 852 million acres of public land, 550,000 miles of motorized trails, 10,000 detailed hikes and routes, 60,000 campgrounds and cabins and hundreds of layers.

“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 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.”

The company says it has grown its staff by over 300% since 2018, when it raised a Series A funding round.

“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 onX CEO Laura Orvidas. “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.”

Submittable, a software company that caters to nonprofits, governments and corporations, announced earlier this year that it had raised $47 million in Series C funding.

“The $87.4 million growth investment in onX marks a new high point for the Montana tech community and a huge economic boost for a company that has already created hundreds of jobs in Missoula, Bozeman, and beyond,” said Christina Quick Henderson, the executive director of the Montana High Tech Business Alliance. “OnX is the quintessential Montana success story — a tech startup built to share one hunter’s passion for the outdoors that thrived not in spite of, but because of its roots in Montana.”