BrunoWeltmann - stock.adobe.com
No pause for the funding rounds
Over the past few days, there have been a few lucky firms securing more investment to bulk up their growth ambitions
The spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus has not stopped the private equity world from continuing to back firms that investors expect to make a difference.
One of the ambitions for most of those landing extra backing is to use those funds to expand business operations, usually involving giving channel efforts more muscle. We take a look at some of the latest investments.
Vast Data
Storage player Vast Data has secured $100m in Series C funding, led by Next47, giving the business a valuation of $1.2bn.
So far the business has managed to attract $180m of funds, and the latest cash will be used to drive global expansion and support growth.
The flash storage specialist has increased its headcount significantly over the past year, but is advertising for numerous sales and engineering positions in various locations across the US and Europe.
“Considering that Vast has not even tapped into its $40m Series B financing, the company now has a $140m war chest to satisfy global customer demand for next-gen infrastructure, and to enable data-driven applications through continued innovation,” said Renen Hallak, founder and CEO of the company.
Natterbox
Voice cloud services specialist Natterbox has landed £7.5m growth equity funding from Octopus Investments. The money will be used to strengthen its sales and marketing operations and to invest in product development teams.
“We’re on a big growth trajectory – last year was the best one yet for Natterbox. Our updated product suite, alongside the increased reliance on virtual communication, puts us in an extremely strong position for the years ahead,” said Neil Hammerton, CEO and co-founder of Natterbox.
“This funding round is validation of that commitment and it will enable us to expand our business operations and offer new, enhanced products and services that continue to drive new standards in customer experience,” he added.
Push Technology
Real-time data streaming and messaging specialist Push Technology has picked up £10m in a Series A round of funding. Maven Capital Partners led the round with participation from new and existing investors Guinness Asset Management and Stephens Capital Partners.
The sales and marketing departments can expect to see the benefit of that investment as the firm looks to grow the business.
“We are in the enviable position of serving the rapidly expanding market for real-time web, mobile and IoT [internet of things] communications. The added financial support and counsel of Maven Capital Partners and Guinness Asset Management will allow us to execute our vision more rapidly and broadly,” said Sean Bowen, CEO of Push Technology.
Cato Networks
Earlier in April, software-defined wide-are network (SD-WAN) player Cato Networks was given $77m in its largest funding round so far, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, taking the total it has received to $200m.
The broad plan is to use those funds to continue to build on the momentum the business enjoyed last year, with a 220% increase in bookings, and the solid start it had made to 2020.
“The global pandemic has disrupted business as usual and underscored the need for an adaptable infrastructure,” said Shlomo Kramer, CEO and co-founder of Cato Networks. “While many companies struggle to enable work-from-home remote access to all employees, Cato customers only had to flip a switch.”
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