Crunchbase, a US-based business information platform spinout of internet and media company AOL, has raised $18m in a series B round led by venture capital firm Mayfield Fund.
Crunchbase operates a deals database that lists funding rounds for private companies. More than five million updates to the platform are supplied by an in-house team, outside contributors and a partner network each year.
The series B capital was secured as the company announced a new premium offering, Crunchbase Enterprise, which aims to support sales activities and identify signals from the market. The money will go towards recruitment and continued product development.
Crunchbase was spun out of AOL in 2015 with series A funding provided by VC firm Emergence Capital Partners. The platform had previously been acquired by AOL in 2010 as part of the corporate’s purchase of TechCrunch, the technology news website where Crunchbase was developed.
In February 2016, Crunchbase received $2m in series A2 capital from Salesforce Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of cloud computing firm Salesforce, as well as Felicis Ventures, Cowboy Ventures, SV Angel, 8 Partners and unnamed private investors.