International data platform Looker has successfully raised nearly £81 million in its latest funding round, spearheaded by PremjiInvest, established by Indian billionaire Azim Premji. This significant investment highlights the growing influence of global investors in Silicon Valley.
Looker’s digital platform aims to streamline the data supply chain by providing actionable information to employees. Since its inception in 2013, the company has raised approximately £220 million.
PremjiInvest led the Series E funding round, which also saw contributions from Cross Creek Advisors and existing investors. According to Frank Bien, CEO of Looker, the company believes that data becomes exponentially more valuable when integrated intelligently and at scale across the entire organisation. Bien stated, ‘We built a new platform for data that greatly simplifies the data supply chain, so organisations can extract value from their data more quickly.’
Sandesh Patnam, lead partner for PremjiInvest in the United States, expressed confidence in Looker’s potential, stating, ‘At Premji, we look for the highest quality companies that are uniquely positioned to become leaders in their industry. We chose to invest in Looker because we were impressed with Looker’s business execution, product differentiation and vision. We are excited to lead this round to support Looker’s rapid growth and improve their position in a growing industry.’
The company reported a 70 per cent increase in revenues in 2018 and nearly 500 new customers, including major entities such as Cisco, ESPN, and Marks and Spencer Plc. The firm, headquartered in California, employs almost 600 people across seven offices in the US, London, Dublin, and Tokyo, with 200 jobs created since the beginning of the year.
The substantial investment from PremjiInvest underscores Looker’s promising future in the data platform industry, reflecting the company’s strong performance and global reach. The involvement of prominent investors such as PremjiInvest is a testimony to Looker’s innovative approach and potential for sustained growth.