Big Data Platform Platfora Nabs $30M

Big data is as ubiquitous to running a modern business as cash or POS systems, but that doesn’t mean that it’s easy or cost-effective to process all of that information in a timely and actionable manner. Fortunately, a startup that does just that is now flush with capital.

Platfora, the self-service big data analysis startup that lets anyone take advantage of the power of wide-scale intelligence, announced Tuesday that it had secured $30 million in funding thanks to a round led by new backers HSBC and Harmony Partners. These two investors join groups like Allegis Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Citi Ventures and Cisco as supporters of Platfora’s mission to bring high-level business intelligence to any industry, regardless of existing infrastructure.

“Organizations of all types are facing big challenges to harness the power of big data analytics and need to empower business users with the right tools to address them,” Remi Bourrette, head of strategic innovation investments at HSBC, said in a statement. “We identified Platfora as a partner in this field, given it’s an important player in an evolution that could affect many industries the way business intelligence did in the early 2000s.”

TechCrunch reported that Platfora, a London-based startup, plans on using the funding to expand operations in Europe — and Asia in the longer term. At 150 full-time employees, Platfora also plans on scaling up internal operations to meet the growing demands and expectations from its customers and investors alike.

Some of those customers, such as multiplayer online game developer Riot Games, have millions of customers to satisfy, which makes delivering on data promises not just a good business model for Platfora, but a crucial part of retail entertainment and marketing across the world.

“Self-service platforms such as Platfora unleash the expertise of data scientists,” Chris Kudelka, data engineer at Riot Games, said in a statement. “Insights from League of Legends’ 67 million monthly active users led to actions taken that improved the overall player experience.”