# VelocityEHS

VelocityEHS is an EHS Software / SaaS based in Chicago, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** EHS Software / SaaS
- **Headquarters:** Chicago, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Chicago, IL, United States
- **Founded:** 1999
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** ehs.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/velocityehs

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

Founded in 1999 by John Damgaard and Glenn Trout, VelocityEHS began as MSDSonline, digitizing material safety data sheets for industrial workplaces. The firm later rebranded around its broader EHS platform after a series of acquisitions, including the 2017 purchase of the original VelocityEHS brand from a Canadian software company. Vista Equity Partners took a majority stake in 2018, shifting the company from a founder-run business into a growth-equity-backed consolidator in the operational risk software market. The platform spans five core modules: chemical management, ergonomics, environmental compliance, safety management, and operational risk. Its software helps manufacturers, logistics firms, and energy producers track everything from hazardous materials inventories to injury reports and regulatory submissions. The acquisition of ErgoAdvocate in 2021 deepened its artificial-intelligence capabilities for injury prediction, while the 2022 integration of Muster’s emergency-response tools extended its reach into crisis management for facilities like chemical plants and refineries. Headquartered in Chicago, the firm maintained additional offices including an R&D hub in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and another in Oakville, Ontario. November 2018: Vista Equity Partners purchased a controlling interest in the company, merging it with its existing Five Points Technology Group portfolio. The private-equity backing fueled a sequence of bolt-on acquisitions, including Kinetica Labs and basicSafe, which expanded the platform’s ergonomics and full-suite EHS capabilities into the mid-market. The company claims over 20,000 customers across manufacturing, energy, and transportation sectors. VelocityEHS operates as a portfolio company first, software developer second—an ownership structure that ties its product roadmap to Vista’s hold-and-build playbook. Unlike operators of broader GRC platforms such as SAI360 or NAVEX, the firm remains tightly focused on EHS and operational risk, drawing its competitive advantage from deep regulatory content libraries rather than horizontal workflow automation.

## Sectors

- Enterprise Software
- Industrial Tech

## People

- John Damgaard — Co-Founder and CEO
- Glenn Trout — Co-Founder and Board Member

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at VelocityEHS?

VelocityEHS is not a fund manager—it is an operating company backed by private equity. Strategic and capital-allocation decisions sit with CEO John Damgaard, the board, and majority owner Vista Equity Partners. Vista took control in 2018, so major M&A and budget choices run through the firm's typical portfolio-management process.

### How does VelocityEHS source its deal flow?

As a software consolidator rather than an allocator, the firm sources acquisition targets through a combination of internal product-gap analysis and Vista Equity Partners' M&A pipeline. The company integrates smaller, often niche, EHS and safety-software startups into its platform, such as Kinetica Labs (ergonomics AI) and Muster (emergency management).

### Which sectors does VelocityEHS explicitly avoid?

The firm's platform is purpose-built for heavy industry and operational safety, not consumer technology or financial services. Sectors with minimal physical safety or environmental compliance burdens—such as consumer software, media, and professional services—fall outside its addressable market, as they lack the mandatory regulatory triggers that drive EHS software adoption.

### What is VelocityEHS's known posture on making acquisitions itself?

VelocityEHS has been an active consolidator, particularly since the Vista Equity Partners recapitalization in 2018. The firm uses a buy-and-integrate model to fold specialized safety, chemical management, and ergonomics startups into its unified platform, extending both its feature set and mid-market customer base.

## Related profiles

- [Vision Innovation Partners](https://altss.com/profile/vision-innovation-partners)

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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