Big Data Analytics Go Large: GoodData Gets $25.7M Led By Intel, Eyes Up 2016 IPO

GoodData, a cloud-based big data analytics firm, is rising higher into the clouds itself. Today it is announcing a $25.7 million round of funding led by Intel Capital, with participation also from existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, Tenaya Capital, TOTVS, Next World Capital, Windcrest, and Pharus Capital. This is a Series E round for the company, which has raised $101.2 million to date, and comes as the company is reportedly eyeing up an IPO in 2016.

The last round raised by GoodData was in June 2013, when it raised $22 million led by Brazil’s TOTVS.

Originally founded in the Czech Republic but now based in San Francisco, GoodData competes against a large swathe of other tech companies that are, like GoodData, capitalising on the shift that enterprises are making to cloud-based services and the boom in big data analytics that has come in the wake of our so much of our lives moving online. Others in the space include RJMetrics, Chartio, Business Objects, Domo and Tableau.

One of the differences between GoodData and the rest of the pack, according to Roman Stanek, GoodData‘s CEO, is in how it structures its analytics to cover a spectrum of uses, but in a way that is nontechnical and easy to integrate.

“As opposed to point solutions that only solve part of the business intelligence equation, GoodData manages the entire big data pipeline for our customers–and we do it all securely in the cloud with unmatched time to value and in a way that minimizes complexity for the user,” he says. GoodData utilises raw, structured and unstructured data in its platform, and relies on multiple data sources, and there is a heavy emphasis on pre-designed templates to make it easier for customers to use. “We are 100% cloud based and perform exceptionally well with cloud data sources like social media and digital marketing customer touch-points.” He says that in fact its most popular use cases are around social media, sales and marketing data sources, and our main verticals are media, entertainment, retail and technology.

GoodData says it has tens of thousands of companies using its services today, with more than 100,000 users using its direct and Powered By (embedded analytics) offerings. This represents a doubling of its customer base in the last year, the company says. Recent customer wins include Hewlett Packard and Nordstrom Inc.

In keeping with the simplicity of the platform, GoodData targets business users and executives, who need answers to big picture questions fast; as well as business analysts looking for more granular insight. It also has an interface intended for technical users, to customise back-end processes for advanced analytics.

While Intel is clearly a company that can benefit as a strategic investor, for now there are no agreements of this kind in place, Stanek says. “We have no formal arrangement for this at this time. However, with this investment and the addition of [Intel Capital director] Igor Taber to our board, GoodData will gain exposure to Intel Capital’s breadth and depth of big data, data center, security and other technology expertise,” he says.

That’s perhaps because despite the amount of capital that has been poured into big data companies, and the number of players on the market, the market is still in a relatively early stage. Indeed, this seems to be behind the wait-and-see approach of Intel itself.

“We are just starting to tap the potential of analytics for big data,” said Jason P. Waxman, Vice President of Intel’s Data Center Group and General Manager of its Cloud Platforms Group, in a statement. “We are investing not only in GoodData’s differentiated, cloud-based analytics solution, but also in the future impact that big data insights can provide across industries.”