Sequoia-backed data analytics startup Near raises $100 mn

Singapore-based data analytics startup Near has raised $100 million (Rs 688.39 crore at current exchange rates) from  London-based private equity firm Greater Pacific Capital (GPC), it said in a statement. The startup will use the capital raised to expand into new markets. While the startup has a team of engineers in Bengaluru, it is yet to launch its services here.

The latest funding round, dubbed the Series D round, takes the total capital raised by the company so far to nearly $134 million.

The company’s Indian-origin founder and CEO Anil Mathews also said in a LinkedIn post that the company planned to make more investments in AI (artificial intelligence) to enhance the automation capabilities of its products. Additionally , there will also be significant investments that will also go towards ramping up its data science and engineering capabilities.

Near’s existing investors include Sequoia Capital, JP Morgan, Cisco Investments and Telstra Ventures. "Near provides insights into human behaviour by analysing where people are and combining that with a multitude of data points to predict and influence behaviour…” Ketan Patel, CEO of GPC, said in the statement.

Founded in 2012 by Mathews, Near offers  data-driven end-to-end marketing automation solutions through a suite of SaaS (software-as-a-service) products. The company’s solutions allow brands, enterprises and publishers to use location, transaction and other real-world signals for data analytics and marketing. The company claims that its database comprises of user data gathered from nearly 1.6 billion users across the world. Its flagship product Allspark enables end-to-end marketing automation solutions for its clients.

Apart from Singapore and Bengaluru, the company has offices in London, Sydney and Tokyo. It claims that its solutions are used by clients across more than 20 countries. Some of its customers  include  News Corp, MetLife, The We Company and Mastercard.

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