OpenGov

OpenGov Inc. is a government technology company that offers cloud software for public sector accounting, planning, budgeting, citizen services, and procurement. OpenGov serves over 1,000 cities, counties, and state agencies across 49 states. In April 2020, OpenGov released a full-cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) system designed specifically for municipal and county governments. In February 2024, minority owner Cox Enterprises agreed to acquire the company.

History
OpenGov, which is headquartered in San Francisco, was founded in 2012 by Nate Levine, Dakin Sloss, Joe Lonsdale, and Zachary Bookman in response to the 2008 financial crisis. The company's founders and several advisors met while working with California Common Sense, a non-profit non-partisan organization, which advocates for open data and open government principles. The group founded OpenGov with the long-term goal of bringing a modern cloud ERP to local and state governments.

In February 2024, minority owner Cox Enterprises agreed to acquire OpenGov, valuing the company at $1.8billion.

Campaigns
On September 15, 2021, OpenGov announced its "Across America" campaign. As a part of the campaign, the company's CEO, Zac Bookman, embarked on a 4,000-mile cross-country biking tour, stopping along the way to thank local leadership. In support of this campaign, OpenGov also partnered up with Sandra Day O'Connor Institute to increase awareness for civic engagement and civil discourse, among other goals.

Customers
, OpenGov serves 1,900 government entities, including state agencies, city governments, school districts, and other special districts. They offer subscriptions to these entities based on the number of products used and the number of employees who need access.

Municipalities
The city of Palo Alto was OpenGov's first customer, following a collaboration between the city and employees from nonprofit California Common Sense to launch a comprehensive open data platform.

Other notable municipality customers include Minneapolis, MN, San Antonio, TX, Richmond, VA, Tampa, FL, Savannah, GA, Stamford, CT, Scranton, PA, Chapel Hill, NC, Topeka, KS, Lubbock, TX, and San Antonio, TX.

Following a chain of cyberattacks and scandals, the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania, partnered up with OpenGov to use its cloud based ERP to restore public trust, improve safety, and accelerate the city's operations. The city's Business Administrator, Karl Deeley, stated that Scranton's operations had not undergone any major changes since the 1980s, so its partnership with OpenGov will enable the city to decrease reliance on its old infrastructure.

In September 2021, the municipality of Durango, Colorado, announced its partnership with OpenGov to increase transparency with its citizens by allowing them to view the city's finances, as well as the spending of other government entities, real time. The effort to increase transparency came after Durango's former finance director, Julie Brown, was caught embezzling over $700,000 across 11 years. Durango also lost millions of dollars through clerical errors in 2019, which OpenGov's software could reduce and prevent down the road.

OpenGov is being used by the city of Los Angeles to prepare for the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Counties
Notable county customers of OpenGov include Dallas County, Middlesex County, New Jersey, and Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

In June 2021, Crook County, Oregon, joined OpenGov's list of clients when it started to use OpenGov's budget and financing software, enabling residents to interact with the budget. Crook County's budgeting was done by a small team, so the county decided to automate its budgeting process through OpenGov, improving the efficiency and the effectiveness of the budgeting process.

States
In 2019, the State of West Virginia partnered with OpenGov to launch statewide financial reporting between the State and West Virginia municipalities, after having launched a transparency initiative with OpenGov in the previous year.

In 2020, the State of Idaho Controller's Office, which had already used OpenGov software to improve fiscal transparency, began using OpenGov to manage CARES Act grant funding due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Schools and special districts
Notable OpenGov school and special district customers include the Menlo Park City School District, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Loudoun County Public Schools in Virginia, Cincinnati Public Schools in Ohio, Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority in Virginia, and the Jackson County Water and Sewerage Authority in Georgia.

Companies
In July 2022, OpenGov acquired Cartegraph, a public cloud software developer, with funding from Cox Enterprises.

In June 2021, OpenGov acquired ProcureNow to enable its customers to run budgeting, procurement and financial operations through the same vendor.

In April 2020, OpenGov launched the first fully-integrated cloud ERP designed specifically for local government, which consists of a fully-integrated Reporting & Transparency Platform as well as three comprehensive software suites: Budgeting & Planning, Accounting, Financial Management, and Citizen Services.

In September 2019, OpenGov acquired ViewPoint Cloud, a platform used by city and state governments to manage community development operations, such as permitting, licensing, inspections, and code enforcement.

In October 2017, OpenGov acquired government-serving tech company, Peak Democracy of Berkeley, California, to expand its public engagement, communication, and feedback tools.

In April 2016, OpenGov acquired Ontodia, a leading developer of Open data CKAN, allowing OpenGov to expand its Reporting & Transparency suite.

In October 2020, OpenGov acquired ClearRec, a Texas-based company, to incorporate its step-by-step bank reconciliation process technology into the OpenGov ERP Cloud.

Partners
On January 11, 2021, OpenGov announced its partnership with Fyllo, a cannabis compliance software company, to streamline the ability of local municipalities to not only write and approve new cannabis regulations, but to also create a thorough compliance tracking solution.

Advisors
OpenGov is advised by experts from the technology, financial, and public service sectors. Examples include:
 * Adrian Fenty, Mayor of Washington D.C. from 2007 to 2011
 * Lawrence H. Summers, Former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
 * Pierre Lamond, venture capitalist
 * Byron Dorgan, Former U.S. Senator from North Dakota
 * Karen White, CEO of RMS
 * Maury Blackman, President & CEO of Premise

Funding
OpenGov has raised $128 million from venture capital and angel investors. A$3 million Series A round in 2012 included venture funds 8VC, Founder Collective, Valiant Capital, and "a number of high-profile angel investors." In 2013, the company raised $4 million in further investment from 8VC and new investor Thrive Capital.

On May 15, 2014, OpenGov announced a new $15 million Series B round of funding including investments from Andreessen Horowitz, 8VC, Group 11, Streamlined Ventures, Sway Ventures, and Thrive Capital.

An additional $25 million Series B round in October 2015 included additional investments from Andreessen Horowitz, 8VC, Thrive Capital, and Sway Ventures, as well as new investors Glynn Capital, Scott Cook, and Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary’s Sound Ventures. Marc Andreessen was also added to the board during the October 15, 2015, round.

In May 2017, the company raised $30 million in a Series C founding round and in September 2019, the startup picked up an additional $51 million in a Series D round led by Weatherford Capital and 8VC (Lonsdale's investment firm), with participation from existing investor Andreessen Horowitz.

In mid-August 2021, Weatherford Capital, a private investment firm in Florida, closed nearly $355 million in its first round of investments for the government technology space, with OpenGov being one of the multiple civic technology companies that received a portion of the investments.