AAA Wasabi warms up with $112m series C

Wasabi warms up with $112m series C

Wasabi, a US-based hot cloud storage provider backed by mobile network operator NTT Docomo, collected $112m yesterday in a series C round led by investment and financial services firm Fidelity.

The round included unnamed existing backers and followed $27.5m in debt financing from MGG Investment Group in January 2021. The company said it has raised $219m of equity funding to date, and the round valued it at $700m according to TechCrunch.

Founded in 2017, Wasabi provides hot cloud storage services that enable businesses to quickly access their data. It claims its services are cheaper than traditional cold cloud storage offerings and faster than other hot cloud storage services.

The company will use the series C funding to open data centres in new international markets, hire staff and expand its network of resellers, technology alliance partners and distributors. It will also look to develop brand awareness and provide marketing support for its channel partners.

Forestay Capital, a technology-focused investment firm owned by family office Waypoint Capital, led a $30m round for Wasabi in June 2020 with participation from undisclosed existing investors. NTT Docomo’s corporate venturing unit, NTT Docomo Ventures, had supplied an undisclosed amount of funding in September 2019.

Wasabi pulled in $68m in a 2018 series B round that included Forestay Capital and investment vehicles representing unspecified family offices, after CloudScale Capital Partners had taken part in a $10.8m round the previous year.

The company had also received $1.9m from undisclosed investors in May 2016 and $6.3m from unnamed backers seven months later, according to securities filings.