Business

Data analytics start-up Quantexa gains unicorn status with GIC funding

Quantexa, a British data analytics company, is bucking the recent trend of technology company valuations by raising a new round of funding that will hand it coveted ‘unicorn’ status.

Sky News has learnt that Quantexa has secured backing from a syndicate of investors including a Singaporean sovereign wealth fund.

An industry source said the fundraising was likely to value Quantexa at close to $1.5bn.

The new investment, which Singapore’s Government Investment Corporation is said to be a major contributor to, represents a significant vote of confidence in Quantexa and its founder, Vish Marria.

Quantexa specialises in providing data analysis services to clients in the banking and insurance sectors as well as government organisations.

Its platform is used to combat fraud and white-collar criminal activity.

Last year, it said it worked with seven of the top ten UK and Australian banks, and six of the top 14 financial institutions in North America, with flagship customers such as HSBC and Standard Chartered.

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It added that it had also established a growing ecosystem of partners, such as Accenture, Deloitte, Microsoft and Google.

Quantexa’s existing investors include Warburg Pincus, the private equity firm, which led a $153m Series D fundraising in July this year.

Its other shareholders include Dawn Capital, HSBC, ABN AMRO Ventures and British Patient Capital, an arm of the government-owned British Business Bank.

The company’s fundraising comes at a time when many tech companies are struggling to secure new financial backing or have put fundraising plans on hold.

Few are managing to raise capital at a significant premium to previous funding rounds.

The recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the US – with its UK arm sold to HSBC for £1 – has sent renewed jitters through the tech community, despite its acquisition this week by First Citizens, an American lender.

Quantexa has been contacted for comment.