US-based communication software provider Symphony Communication Services secured $165m yesterday from investors including financial services firm Standard Chartered and MUFG Innovation Partners, the venture capital arm of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.
The round also featured financial services firm BNP Paribas and investment banks JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, the latter through its Principal Strategic Investments unit. It valued Symphony at $1.4bn, people with knowledge of the company told CNBC.
Symphony has created a secure enterprise communication platform with 430,000 licensed users that is used most prominently in the financial services industry. It also allows users to build their own apps and bots on the platform.
The capital will go to expanding the company’s recently launched Symphony Market Solutions division, which provides licensable software and automation technology enabling businesses to enhance their digital processes. It brought Symphony’s overall funding to more than $460m, it said.
The company first raised money in 2014 when it received $66m from financial services firms Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, BofA Merrill Lynch, BNY Mellon, BlackRock, Citadel, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Citi, Jefferies, Maverick, Morgan Stanley, Nomura and Wells Fargo.
Symphony raised more than $100m the following year from internet technology provider Google, financial services firms Natixis, UBS and Societe Generale, and additional investors that included Lakestar and Merus Capital, at a $650m valuation.
BNP Paribas led a $63m round in 2017 that included unnamed existing backers at a $1bn valuation, before Symphony added $67m from banks firm Barclays, CLSA and BPIfrance as well as existing investors in April 2018.
Alex Manson, head of Standard Chartered unit SC Ventures, said: “Standard Chartered is excited to support Symphony as one of the leading collaboration platforms deployed by the largest financial services firms globally.
“This strategic investment will provide the bank with greater insights into future trends in the enterprise communication and workflow collaboration space. Furthermore, as a leading global bank, Standard Chartered offers Symphony growth opportunities in our footprint markets across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.”
