US-based market intelligence provider AlphaSense secured $180m yesterday in a series C round featuring financial services firms Morgan Stanley, Citi, Barclays, Bank of America and Wells Fargo.
GS Growth, the growth equity arm of investment bank Goldman Sachs’ Asset Management division, co-led the round with hedge fund Viking Global Investors. It included investment bank Cowen and asset manager AllianceBernstein, while Wells Fargo invested through its Strategic Capital unit.
AlphaSense’s online platform accumulates information from public and private content sources, making it accessible through an artificial intelligence-powered search engine tailored for business and finance.
The capital will be put toward building out the company’s content and technology, as well as driving growth and potential acquisitions. It had raised $50m in a July 2019 series B round backed by Innovation Endeavors, Soros Fund Management, Euclidean Capital and Tribeca Venture Partners.
Tribeca Venture Partners and Soros Fund Management also participated in AlphaSense’s $33m series A round in 2016 alongside Triangle Peak Partners and private investors including Tom Glocer, former chief executive of media group Thomson Reuters.
AlphaSense chief executive Jack Kokko said: “Every company’s destiny is the cumulative sum of the decisions it makes. Our platform, with search technology combined with exclusive content, helps companies across all industries make better decisions more confidently and quickly.
“We are excited that the world’s top investment banks are joining this round along with preeminent pre-IPO growth investors like Viking Global and GS Growth. This kind of strategic investment is unique and further validates our mission.”
