Austin-based SparkCognition announced Tuesday that it has raised $123 million in Series D funding, which boosts the company into unicorn territory with a $1.4 billion valuation.
The company said its valuation is more than twice the valuation attached to its $100 million Series C from 2019. The company has raised a total of $300 million, including a $56.5 million Series B in 2018.
SparkCognition develops artificial intelligence-enabled technology for a wide array of global industries, including oil and gas, renewables, manufacturing, financial services and transportation.
In 2020, the company launched a subsidiary, SparkCognition Government Systems, entirely devoted to the government and defense industry.
“Our AI solutions address core infrastructure challenges, including asset optimization, preventing zero-day cyberattacks, augmenting skill gaps, and enabling climate change initiatives,” Amir Husain, the company’s founder and CEO, said in a statement. “This additional capital will enable us to deepen our subject matter expertise, enhance our patent portfolio, and accelerate the diversity of problems we solve for customers, maximizing their return on investment.”
SparkCognition acquired three companies last year while increasing revenue by 90 percent. The company also opened its HyperWerx facility, a 50-acre facility meant to showcase AI at work, including IoT, robotics, autonomous drones and Industry 4.0 applications.
The company has just over 300 employees globally and plans to hire an additional 150 employees this year. It is hiring across departments but is particularly focused on hiring more subject matter experts in energy, financial services, manufacturing, aerospace and government.
The company said in an email that it is seeing growth and investment in AI technologies across all of its markets, but it sees “expansive opportunity” in renewables, manufacturing and cybersecurity.
The Series D round was represented by new and existing investors, including March Capital, Doha Venture Capital, B. Riley Venture Capital, AEI Horizon X, Temasek, Alan Howard and Peter Löscher.
