Confluent, the US-based data streaming platform developer backed by social network LinkedIn, completed a $250m series E round yesterday that was led by investment management firm Coatue Management.
Investment firms Altimeter Capital and Franklin Templeton also participated in the round, along with venture capital firms Index Ventures and Sequoia Capital. The money was raised at a $4.5bn valuation.
Founded in 2014, Confluent has created a software platform that allows enterprises to stream current and historical data in order to track digital activity in real time. It is built on Apache Kafka, the open source event streaming platform developed by the company’s founders.
Jay Kreps, co-founder and chief executive of Confluent, said: “Today’s high expectations for on-demand services has given rise to a new data infrastructure paradigm where data is no longer just a static database of information.
“Event streaming has set the new standard for how data can be leveraged across an organisation as a continuous stream of real-time events. We are looking forward to helping more companies put event streaming at the heart of their businesses to deliver the real-time, contextual experiences customers demand.”
The round boosted the company’s total funding to $456m, with LinkedIn contributing to a $6.9m series A round in 2014 that was led by Benchmark and also backed by fellow VC firm Data Collective.
Confluent had last raised cash in January 2019, when Sequoia Capital – also an existing investor – led a $125m series D round that included Benchmark and Index Ventures at a $2.5bn valuation.
