Confluent, the US-based data streaming software provider that counts social network operator LinkedIn as an investor, is looking to raise up to $300m in new funding, Bloomberg has reported.
The company is in discussions with prospective investors according to people with knowledge of the matter, and is seeking $200m to $300m, one source said. Another stated that the funding could value it at about $5bn.
Confluent has created an event streaming platform that enables enterprises to view and manage data in real-time streams, meaning they can get a detailed view of events as they happen.
The company’s product has been built on Apache Kafka, the open-source stream-processing software originally developed within LinkedIn. It plans to raise money ahead of a possible initial public offering, according to the sources.
The round would follow a $125m series D in January 2019 that was led by Sequoia Capital and backed by fellow venture capital firms Benchmark and Index Ventures. It valued Confluent at $2.5bn and increased its funding to $206m since it was founded in 2014.
Benchmark had led a $6.9m series A round for the company in 2014, investing alongside LinkedIn and VC firm Data Collective. It raised $24m from Index Ventures and Benchmark the following year before both took part in a $50m series C led by Sequoia in 2017.
