Rodolphe Ardant founded the advertising start-up Wozaik, which Solocal bought in 2013. He then served as chief operating officer at Drivy before joining the Paris start-up studio eFounders.
Spendesk began at eFounders and was incorporated on 1 August 2016, with Guilhem Bellion and Jordane Giuly as co-founders. Staff grew from about 20 to 120 in 2018 and 2019, and the product passed 40,000 users in 2020.
In 2020 Spendesk had a net loss of about €18.1 million on revenue of €8.2 million. It raised €100 million from General Atlantic in July 2021 and another €100 million in January 2022, becoming the 26th French unicorn.
In September 2024 Spendesk cut about 150 jobs after heavy losses. In March 2025 it recorded its first profitable month, and annual recurring revenue reached €52 million in the first quarter.