DocuSign was founded in 2003 by Court Lorenzini, Tom Gonser, and Eric Ranft, building on technology acquired from DocuTouch, a Seattle-based e-signature startup. The company began commercial sales in 2005 through integration with zipForm real estate transaction management software, establishing an early foothold in the real estate industry.
DocuSign established the legal validity of electronic signatures through extensive work with courts and regulators. By 2010, DocuSign had processed 80 million signatures and held approximately 73% of the SaaS-based electronic signature market.
The company expanded internationally in 2011, opening a London office and forming strategic partnerships with Salesforce, PayPal, Google Drive, and other major technology platforms. Keith Krach became CEO in 2011, leading DocuSign through rapid expansion. Daniel Springer succeeded Krach as CEO in 2017.
DocuSign went public on NASDAQ in April 2018, raising $629 million in its IPO at a valuation of approximately $4.4 billion. The company experienced extraordinary growth during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, as remote work drove massive demand for digital document signing. Revenue grew from approximately $974 million in fiscal year 2020 to approximately $2.1 billion in fiscal year 2022.
Following the pandemic-driven growth surge, revenue growth slowed significantly. Daniel Springer resigned as CEO in 2022. Mary Agnes Wilderotter served as interim CEO before Allan Thygesen was appointed CEO in October 2022.
Under Thygesen, DocuSign has focused on expanding beyond eSignature into a broader Intelligent Agreement Management platform, using AI to help organizations analyze, manage, and extract value from their agreements. For fiscal year 2025 (ended January 31, 2025), DocuSign reported revenue of approximately $2.96 billion.
In 2024, DocuSign announced it would be acquired by private equity firm Bain Capital in a deal valuing the company at approximately $6.9 billion, subject to regulatory approval.